More than therapy or coaching…
Thank you for checking out my site. It's an honor to share my passion and purpose with my clients and readers. I hope you find the support you're looking for to nourish and strengthen the bonds between you and your love.
There are six key themes in my work you will learn more about on this page. They are:
Relationships heal us.
Healthy relationships evolve and change.
Relational skills require unlearning and practice to develop.
A secure relational base starts from within.
Pleasure is medicine.
YOU ARE NOT BROKEN.
Scroll down to learn more about these themes in my work. I look forward to supporting you.
10,000 clinical couples therapy hours
Licensure in Marriage and Family Therapy*
*I stopped offering psychotherapy formally in 2016
Relationships heal us.
Relational healing has been central to my personal growth process. Let me be frank: I co-created some really unhealthy relationships in my past. My early romantic partnerships were full of manipulations, trust issues, infidelity, and emotional reactivity. It was drama and it was messy. I am still embarrassed by some of my past actions.
I began my master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy program just as I started processing the end of my first marriage. I threw myself fully into learning the theory of healthy relating and relational healing so I would never feel that level of heartbreak again.
I’ve since been fortunate to learn from some of the most respected teachers in the field of couples work as I incorporated their research and practices into my personal life and professional work.
I recommit to learning the current models and research in the field of human relationships and interpersonal psychology every year.
Some of my learning experiences are listed below. Read my full list of credentials here.
Internship at the Gottman Relationship Research Institute
Gottman Level 2 Certified Clinician
Imago Relationship Certification Level 2
Relational Life Therapy training Level 2
Healthy relationships evolve.
As I grew as a couple therapist I began exploring the ways relationships could evolve over time. When we think of relationships as living beings we understand they require nourishment, stimulation, affection, and tenderness like any other vibrant healthy creature.
I’ve since supported thousands of couples in navigating conversations about expanding their relationship Whether through non-monogamy, balancing autonomy and connection, building a family, empty-nesting, or compassionately de-coupling, I love supporting partners through relationship transformation and evolution.
My experiences in this area are listed below. Review the full list of my training and credentials here.
5000+ clinical hours supporting couples who opening relationships
500+ hours of training on Ethical Non-Monogamy
200+ hours teaching university courses on polyamory, non-monogamy, and open relationships
Bringing Baby Home Facilitator Certification
Abortion Advocacy Training
Prepare-Enrich Process Certification
Discernment Counseling Certification
250+ hours of Transformative Coaching Training through ICF-accredited coaching programs
Professional Divorce Mediation Certification
What my clients have said…
Masters in Education, 2002
Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, 2010
10+ years facilitating Presence Practice communication group
Relationship skills take practice.
I was born into a family of therapists. Yes, really, my happily married parents are in their 70s and teach communication skills to other folks to this day. I was lucky to grow up in a family that worked to communicate effectively and support each other in meaningful ways.
BUT that is just not the norm for most people.
Most of us don’t learn healthy communication skills in our family of origin. Our families and communities are filled with unresolved ancestral trauma, internalized oppressions, and reactivity that blocks healthy communication patterns.
In my work with couples all over the world it’s perfectly clear: we are not doomed to continue the communication struggles we learned in early life.
With practice, we can learn to communicate lovingly, listen more deeply and build meaningful emotional connections.
Here are some of the tools and training I draw from to help you communicate:
Resonant Practitioner certification (in progress) with Sara Peyton
2000-Hour Professional Mediation Certification
Compassionate Listening and Communication Certification
Safe Conversations Certification
12+ years as a Nonviolent Communication Trainer
Emotional IQ Professional Training Program
A secure base starts within.
One lesson I have learned over the years is that we cannot access true connected joy if we are not safe and secure. Having a secure base balancing attunement and self-intimacy in a safe environment lays a foundation for intimate connection in partnership.
In relationship with ourselves and with others we create a secure base of trust and warmth we can return to whenever we face hardship or uncertainty.
Finding ways to secure the foundation of our relationship, co-regulate and calm our nervous systems in a world filled with ever-mounting uncertainty is essential to moving forward in partnership.
Living through the uncertainty of 2020 through right now made this abundantly clear: many of us are still riding waves of stress and instability from that shake up.
I’ve trained in several areas of attachment theory and neuropsychology to share with you:
Level 3 Reiki practitioner
Completion of the Nervous System Reset Program
200+ hours of Attachment-Based Therapy training
300+ hours of Trauma-Informed Therapy training
200+ hour Yoga Therapist training through IAYT
Level 2 PACT Therapist trained
Daring Way and Rising Strong Facilitator certification with Dr. Brene Brown
250+ hours of attachment and trauma-related training for adoptive parents
15+ years as a sex educator teaching skills for intimate self connection and shared sexual expression
Human Sexuality certification from the Kinsey Institute
One year of study with Michaela Boehm working with sexual energy
Pleasure is medicine.
I believe pleasure is not only your birthright, but it is medicine we need for resilience in the modern and collapsing world.
People who savor food, soak in music and art, delight in creativity, and can be present for embodied pleasures live more fulfilling lives with deeper intimate connections.
The process of claiming (or reclaiming) pleasure in a world that seems hell-bent on our numbness and burnout is incredibly empowering and wildly healing.
Pleasure can certainly mean sexual pleasure, AND I invite you to expand your experience of pleasure into every corner of your spirit and sensory experience.
Pleasure is power.
I invite you to join me in discovering meaningful pleasure in this life using some of the experiences I’ve gathered along the way:
Certified Body Trust Provider
300+ hours training on healthy BDSM and Kink practices
2 years of consultation and supervision with Esther Perel
Desire Map Facilitator certification with Danielle Laporte
Sexuality Counselor certification supervision with Dr. Karlaina Brooke
Sexuality Educator certification supervision with Dr. Bianca Laureano
You are not broken.
There are systems at play that hold some of us down, deny some access, and keep whole communities undernourished. I do not believe people are broken, I believe these systems are sometimes broken and often need to be replaced entirely.
Of course, we are all accountable for the actions we take and the impact we have on the world around us, and because some of us have way more options and way more resources at our disposal our pathways are not equal.
You can read the Anti-Racist Business Pledge and the Land Acknowledgement I have taken, but know that my goal is to minimize relational harm and I see my work in this area as active and evolving. I take this commitment seriously not only in promises but also in actions.
We cannot work to minimize harm, and resolve interpersonal conflicts and also ignore the many ways colonialism, nationalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy impact our relationships.
