My approach to therapy was shaped long before I entered the mental health field. I first came to this work through my undergraduate degree in anthropology. Studying human evolution and behavior through the lens of adaptation and survival deeply influenced how I understand emotional distress - not as pathology - but as patterns that once served a purpose in a particular context.

I later earned a Master of Science in Counseling from Oklahoma State University and received advanced post-graduate training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Therapy training gave me practical tools and structure, but my foundational understanding remained the same: most behaviors, even the ones people want to change, make sense once we understand what they’re protecting.

My work is also strongly informed by decades of yoga and mindfulness practice. I pay close attention to the body in therapy, because emotions are not just thoughts, they are physical experiences. Many people struggle not because they lack insight, but because their bodies are stuck in patterns of tension, threat, or relief-seeking that haven’t been fully understood. We often begin there.

Across all of my work, I’m interested in helping people understand why they feel and respond the way they do, especially when those patterns are self-critical, anxiety-driven, or exhausting to maintain. I tend to work best with thoughtful, self-reflective people who are tired of approaches that treat their inner lives as problems to manage rather than systems to understand.