You know, as a therapist— at least for me— it’s a bit of a challenge to talk about myself. I became a therapist because I love listening to and helping others. I guess that’s a good place to start: how did I end up as a therapist?

In high school, I always loved making art and took every art class I could. But I also always had an interest in people: in helping others, in hearing peoples’ stories, and in mental health in general. People often inspired my artwork. I loved drawing and painting portraits or trying to express emotions through my artwork. After high school, I moved on to pursue graphic design in college and received my Bachelor of Fine Arts, but I always in the back of my mind knew what I truly wanted to do was work with people, and hopefully, help people. A family member introduced me to the art therapy field— it’s a steadily growing field, but then it was really not well known. So, while working toward my undergraduate degree I took some psychology courses that fulfilled the pre-requisites for a graduate degree in Art Therapy. Two years of graduate studies later and I finally had my MS in Creative Arts Therapy.

I have experience as an art therapist in various community mental health agencies, with specialized training in trauma-informed art and talk therapy. I love that I have the ability to combine my love for art with being a mental health therapist. It really is a dream career for me. Art can be so therapeutic— not only is it relaxing and fun, but it gets at parts of the brain that verbal communication can’t, including the parts of the brain where trauma is stored. How cool is that? And you don’t need to be an artist or have any art making experience to engage in art therapy.

So now you’ve got an idea of my career path, and hopefully that has helped you to start to get a sense of who I am as a therapist. I decided to take the leap and start my own practice in 2020 (the year that made us all question everything). I’ve been in therapy myself, so I know it works, and I’m excited for you to unlock that growth and healing in yourself. You’re worth it!

Finally, I’ll share some more personal facts: I have a giant, fluffy, golden retriever named Remi and have always been an animal lover (but especially dogs). I love being outside, camping, hiking, running, even just sitting with Remi and enjoying a book. As you might expect, I love making art in my free time. In college I visited India, and I hope to have the opportunity to travel to more countries in the future.

Now enough about me, let’s get to it! I look forward to meeting you.