I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) providing traditional and equine assisted mental health therapy. I believe it takes courage and strength to seek out therapy, and the therapist-client relationship is foundational to effective therapy. In working with clients and through my own individual therapy, I have seen and experienced how therapy can provide deep healing, growth, and positive change.
I work with adult individuals and couples and use a combination of Marriage and Family Therapy based theories in my therapeutic approach. I specialize in maternal mental health, anxiety, grief and loss, life transitions, and couples therapy. My work with couples is informed by Emotionally Focused Therapy, which is an empirically supported form of couples’ therapy centered on emotional responsiveness.
Becoming a therapist is a second career for me.
I have 10 years of business experience in the corporate world working for a market research firm in the consumer-packaged goods industry. I went back to graduate school at age 40, which is one of my favorite life experiences. I am a mom to three school age children, two big shedding dogs, a queen cat and a backyard coop of blue egg laying hens.
I believe that mistakes and learning curves are part of the human experience that are good. They push us to grow and adapt. I value deeply living day to day in a state of growth, along with carving out time for routine self-care to nourish and refuel the soul.
I specialize in Maternal Mental Health
I have advanced training through Postpartum Support International and am certified by The Postpartum Stress Center to treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. I believe that mom’s mental health and wellbeing is too often pushed aside. Research shows that creating a secure attachment between the primary caregiver and newborn from birth through the first two years of life impacts how the child will relate and attach to others into adulthood. I am dedicated to helping reduce the stigma of seeking help for women suffering from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, such as postpartum anxiety. I am also passionate about helping mothers and partners who are struggling with infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy loss, traumatic birth experience, along with the newfound identity of becoming a parent.
The symptoms clients feel can become overwhelming. Appetite, sleep, mood, the ability to enjoy things, and our relationships can all suffer. Feeling “stuck”, or paralyzed in daily life, is a common complaint I hear from clients in the first several sessions of therapy. I also hear “I just don’t feel like myself.” These feelings are real. We talk about choices and a path to feeling better. Within the therapeutic journey we also might explore past traumas that contribute to present day feelings. We work together slowly to help accept and heal these wounds.
If you think you might be experiencing anxiety or depression during pregnancy or post birth, please seek help.
With treatment, you will feel better again.
Additional Specialties
Anxiety
- Generalized anxiety
- Panic episodes
- Excessive worry or fear
- Intrusive thoughts and rumination
- Disruptive thought patterns
- Avoidant behavior
- Impaired functioning
Grief & Loss
- Loss of spouse
- Loss of mother, father or other family member
- Loss of intangible things – identity, hopes, dreams
- Loss of career or home relocation
- Loss of romantic relationship
- Family member cutoffs
- Unresolved and complex grief
Life Transitions
- Transition to parenthood
- Growing the family
- Getting married
- Becoming separated
- Going through divorce
- Romantic relationship breakup
- Becoming widowed
- Becoming an empty nester
- Retirement
Training & Credentials
Licensure
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Georgia, license #MFT001877.
Education
- Masters of Marriage and Family Therapy, Mercer University School of Medicine
- Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, Miami University of Ohio
Foundational Theories
- General Systems, Attachment, Bowen Transgenerational, Satir Experiential, Couples Emotionally Focused, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Certifications & Specialized Trainings
- The Postpartum Stress Center, certification in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders
- Postpartum Support International, certificate in completion of perinatal mood disorders – components of care course
- Equine Assisted Growing and Learning Association (EAGALA), certification as advanced skill mental health professional
- Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH), trained mental health professional
- Institute for Study of Birth, Breath, and Death, specialized training in grief and loss
Association Memberships
- American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, professional member
- Georgia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, professional member & supervision volunteer committee member
- Postpartum Support International, professional member & monthly group volunteer facilitator
- Equine Assisted Growing and Learning Association (EAGALA), professional member