My Approach

I am warm, compassionate and strive to make my clients feel heard, understood, supported and valued. When you come into my office, I want you to feel that you are in a safe place with someone you can trust. I use an integration of evidence-based therapeutic approaches that emphasize self-worth, authentic communication, a positive client-therapist relationship and mindfulness. I will adapt my approach to meet your needs, and may include strategies from solution focused brief therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), sensorimotor psychotherapy, emotionally focused therapy (EFT), somatic experiencing (SE), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and psychodynamic therapy, among others. I aim to provide you with healing experiences that strengthen your ability to cope with the stressors in your life, increase your resilience, bring you a deeper understanding of yourself, and empower you to progress toward your goals. 

With couples and families, I look at relationship dynamics and the context surrounding the relationship(s). I consider all factors that may be impacting you and your loved one(s), such as culture, beliefs and values, health, the affects of trauma and previous relationship experiences. With couples and families, I primarily use techniques from emotionally focused therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method. Healthy relationships are essential to human wellness, which is why I am dedicated to helping people achieve a greater sense of security and well-being in their attachment to one another. I strive to help couples and families develop a lasting sense of connection, restore intimacy and closeness, resolve conflict, and recover from relationship crises, such as infidelity, separation, and other major life changes.  

My Background

My background includes treating a variety of relationship and mental health issues in private practice and community mental health clinic settings, counseling for suicide and domestic violence prevention, and certification and practice in a form of holistic healing. I also have many years of professional experience in the field of international development and public administration. Passionate about empowering people to achieve healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives as individuals and as a society, I organized communities and non-profit organizations throughout Latin America for community development projects. I then moved to the Washington, DC area and worked for the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, evaluating programs and forming policy. In addition to my master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Pfeiffer University, I have a master’s in international development policy and public administration from Rutgers University, and a bachelor’s degree in communications from UNC-Chapel Hill.