I began my career during my undergraduate training, in which I worked as a shift supervisor and aftercare case manager for an adolescent treatment center. During graduate school, I co-facilitated a group for women with substance abuse issues and a group for parents with spirited children. I completed one of my Masters level internships at a neurobehavioral hospital, where I worked with patients with traumatic brain injuries and children with neurodevelopmental disorders. I then provided risk assessments, individual and group therapy, and psychological evaluations for my second Masters level internship at an inner-city prison in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
My doctoral internship was completed at a combination general medical/psychiatric hospital just south of Milwaukee in Racine, Wisconsin. There I provided individual therapy and psychological evaluations for clients suffering from Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, anxiety, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and personality disorders. Additionally, I co-facilitated a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)-informed coping skills group for people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder, and I co-led a chronic pain management group using cognitive-behavioral techniques and mindfulness.
I began my professional career in Alaska in 2011 by providing services at Good Samaritan Counseling Center. There I conducted psychological evaluations for children, adolescents and adults, and I provided individual psychotherapy for adolescents and adults suffering from depression, Bipolar Disorder, anxiety, PTSD, and personality disorders. Additionally, I had the pleasure of starting a DBT-informed coping skills group for clients of the clinic. I moved to Providence Medical Group Behavioral Health in March 2014, where I continued the coping skills group and also continued to provide psychological evaluations and individual therapy services for adolescents and adults. I twice taught a Masters-level Abnormal Psychology class at Alaska Pacific University (2015 and 2017) in the Counseling Psychology program, and from this experience I fell in love with teaching. In January 2016, I began private practice in Anchorage and have thoroughly enjoyed working with the diverse mixture of individuals that make up the population of Anchorage, Alaska. With the pandemic occurring in 2020-2021, I began offering telebehavioral health services, which has been a beneficial service to offer for people living in more remote areas of the state. In July of 2021, my family moved to Arizona, where I began working for the Department of Corrections in Tucson. This experience has offered a different perspective on the effect of trauma on an individual and their emotional and behavioral health.
I am currently trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (see EMDRIA). Additionally, I have completed the Level I and II trainings for hypnosis through ASCH, and I'm certified in the diagnosis and treatment of Complex Trauma and Dissociative Disorders through ISST-D. I have served for three years from 2018-2021 as the President for the Alaska Regional Component Group for ISST-D.