Experience and Education

I graduated from the University of San Diego in 1989 with a master’s degree in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling, a program that emphasized the significant impact of environment, family and other relationships on an individual's behavior and well being, both past and present.  I began my career as a therapist in community mental health in rural northern California, where I worked with adolescents and their families, and provided consultation to school staff and administrators.

In 1992, a cluster of massive earthquakes struck northern California, devastating a number of small isolated coastal communities.  As a therapist, I became deeply involved in the recovery efforts being made to assist the disaster victims, often homeless now, cope with this tragedy.   It was here, working with these people that I really began to understand the meaning of therapy and I realized that although life can be understood backwards, we must live it forwards. I went on to be a part of multiple disaster response teams in later years, which furthered my interest in the role of trauma in mental health and recovery.

When I relocated to Colorado in 1993, I began working with Mental Health Partners in Boulder County.  During my 26 years with MHP, I worked with people of all ages, gaining extensive experience with children, adolescents and adults dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma related issues, substance use disorders, bipolar disorder and psychotic disorders. I received ongoing training in many schools of therapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy, solution focused therapy trauma focused therapies and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.  I trained and supervised a large number of clinical staff, and provided consultation to medical providers, law enforcement, hospitals and other community partners.

I helped develop progressive and innovative programs that greatly improved outcomes for clients by offering more cohesive treatment that focused on the whole person, integrating physical and mental health care, and providing education and support to implement lifestyle changes and improve social and community connections.  

All of this allows me to bring an enormous amount of clinical experience and knowledge to draw from when working with you to formulate a meaningful and achievable treatment plan.