My Approach
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” – Rumi
My approach is grounded in the belief that love, connection, and a sense of wholeness are intrinsic to all of us. Drawing on the principle that there is spontaneous movement in all of us toward connection and health, I help clients gently uncover and address the unconscious patterns and protective barriers formed in response to developmental and relational trauma blocking this movement. By creating a compassionate and non-judgmental space, I support individuals in reconnecting with their authentic selves and uncovering the light of love within. I additionally bring a heart-centered and humanistic approach to this work, honoring each person’s innate capacity for growth, healing, and self-discovery. Through curiosity, awareness, and relational attunement, I guide clients in exploring the parts of themselves that have been disconnected or hidden, helping them move toward a greater sense of connection, self-compassion, and aliveness.
My Journey
From an early age I deeply desired connection with others. I had a longing for inclusion, for love, for reassurance, and to be seen by peers and adults in my life. At the same time, I experienced failures in my environments that resulted in closing off to the connections I most wanted.
As I got older I turned away from others and myself, pursuing validation through external accomplishments. By the time I arrived at the University of Kansas for undergraduate studies, I felt lost with what seemed like no direction forward. At one of my lowest moments and following many degree changes, a professor/mentor helped me create inroads to my potential, connect to my self-esteem, and nurture a newfound sense of confidence. His modeling of relationship-centered learning spaces inspired me to provide similar spaces for other young people.
In 2008, I serendipitously found myself in Detroit, MI where I delved into working with children and teens in schools, community centers, and through urban gardening. This experience deepened my understanding of the importance of authentic connection and moved me to pursue a path dedicated to supporting others in their personal growth and healing.
Following my time in Detroit, I continued my work with youth and families in various capacities, including school-based settings and residential treatment programs. In 2014, I moved to New York City to pursue my Master of Social Work degree at CUNY Hunter’s Silberman School of Social Work and was immediately drawn to trauma work with children and families.
During and after my studies, I immersed myself in outpatient clinical work, focusing on trauma-based therapeutic treatments that address childhood attachment trauma. My journey fostered a particular curiosity about somatic therapeutic treatment as a means of resolving stored trauma histories resulting from PTSD and attachment failures.
In subsequent years, I continued my trauma work both in outpatient therapy as well as in foster care and adoption services, school-based mental health, and rapid-response children’s mobile crisis. It was during these experiences that I came more closely into contact with how my early life challenges with connecting with others were manifesting in my adult life.
While I was on a successful trajectory in nonprofit management, something about it felt deeply misaligned with what I most wanted for myself. I experienced temporary fulfillment from external validation, however I felt pulled toward deeper connection with myself and others, and I knew that my healing journey would require self-trust and a leap of faith.
At the start of 2022, I began making plans to transition toward becoming a self-practicing, full-time trauma therapist. In August of that year I began to build my therapy practice and dove head first into the self-healing I knew I wanted for myself. Since that time, I’ve developed personally and professionally in ways that previously seemed unimaginable, reaffirming my commitment to supporting others in reconnecting to themselves, completing unresolved survival patterns, and living a life of meaningful connection.
Educational Background
Master of Social Work, Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work (2016)
LCSW, licensed in New York and Florida (NY license #: 092493; FL license #: TPSW5027 / https://flhealthsource.gov/telehealth/)
Interpersonal Neurobiology certification (2023)
NeuroAffective Relational Model Level II training & certification (2023)
NeuroAffective Relational Model Level III masters training & certification (2024)
NeuroAffective Relational Model Level IV post-masters training (2025)
Complex Trauma Training Center Intersubjective & Transpersonal SPACE training (2025)