Before I ever became a therapist, I was answering calls on a domestic violence hotline, working as a victim advocate for a police department, and writing my doctoral research on what it actually takes for survivors to leave abusive relationships and rebuild their lives. I’ve been doing this work in one form or another for well over a decade, so my bar for “shocking” is pretty much nonexistent. I get the confusion, the self-doubt, and the way you can love someone and still know something is very wrong. I also know healing is possible, even when it feels completely out of reach.

My style is warm, direct, and real. I’m not going to nod silently while you talk into the void, and I’m not going to push you faster than you’re ready to go. You’re the expert on your life. My job is to help you make sense of what happened, settle a nervous system that’s been on high alert for way too long, and rebuild trust in yourself.

I use EMDR to process the stuff that’s stuck, along with CBT, person-centered therapy, and mindfulness, so you leave with tools you can actually use between sessions. I especially love working with women, moms, and survivors. That includes people in or leaving controlling or emotionally abusive relationships, survivors of narcissistic abuse and domestic violence, and anyone who grew up without emotional safety and is watching those patterns show up now. If you’ve been holding everyone else together while quietly falling apart, I see you. Most of my clients are women, but I’m LGBTQ+ affirming and open to working with everyone.

Outside the therapy room, I’m a tenured Associate Professor of social work at Our Lady of the Lake University, where I teach, chair dissertations, and research intimate partner violence and gun violence prevention (apparently I don’t believe in slow Tuesdays). I’m also a wife, a foster and adoptive mom, and mom to a spirited daughter and a toddler who fully runs our household. You’ll usually find me with a camera in hand, cheering on TCU (Go Frogs!), or spending time with friends and family.