My Approach
Curiosity, creativity, and compassion— it’s my belief that a good therapist must embody these three important qualities in order for psychotherapy to be effective. Here’s how I bring them into every session:
Curiosity: I want to know all about you! No detail is insignificant; everything relates in some way to the bigger picture that makes up you. Throughly exploring the dynamics of your interpersonal relationships, both former and current, is often the key to major therapeutic breakthroughs. We’ll also examine details of significant events and experiences throughout your life as we search for recurring patterns and connections between your past and present.
Creativity: With your input, I will carefully select and tailor therapeutic interventions based on your unique needs and preferences (because what’s effective for one person may not work at all for another). Your treatment plan may include supplements to your regular psychotherapy sessions such as journaling, logs/trackers, and education on breathwork and mindfulness-based coping skills.
Compassion: I prioritize maintaining a safe, peaceful emotional space that’s focused on understanding you and your life. You’ll find no judgement here— only empathy. It’s just as important for you to feel physically comfortable during your session, so I’ve designed my office to be sensory-friendly with warm lamplight, comfortable furnishings, and gentle white noise to minimize any distractions as we chat.
My therapeutic approach is flexible and integrated, uniting well-studied concepts from humanistic, existential, relational, and psychodynamic theories. When needed, I incorporate complementary interventions from third-wave modalities such as ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) and MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), resulting in a holistic practice that respects the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit.
I’m dedicated to helping my clients learn from their past, navigate their present, and plan for their future.
Education, Training, & Experience
2007 In my early twenties, I started college with the intent of becoming an art therapist. I double-majored in visual arts and psychology during my freshman and sophomore years.
2009 I moved to the Gulf Coast of Florida and took a year-long break from my studies.
2010 I transferred to University of West Florida for my junior year, where I decided to drop the art major to exclusively pursue a psych degree. I threw myself into learning everything I could about the field. In addition to my regular coursework, I worked as a research assistant to Dr. Lisa VanWormer in what was then known as the Attention & Memory Lab, where we studied the effects of aging on cognition. At the end of my first semester, I received the Psychology Junior Excellence Award and was invited to join the national honor society of Phi Kappa Phi.
2011 In my senior year, I was named to the UWF President’s List and ranked in the first percentile for my major. I continued my work in the cognitive aging lab, completed a minor in Child Welfare, and began shadowing a local ABA therapist who worked with children with autism. In April, I helped present our cognitive aging research at UWF’s first Student Scholars Symposium; our project, “The Roles of Visual Short-Term Memory and Working Memory in Change Detection,” tied for first place in the Graduate Collaborative division.
2012 Three days after graduating from UWF summa cum laude with my B.A. in Psychology, I gave birth to my child and put my career plans on hold in order to focus on motherhood.
2013 Shortly after my child’s first birthday, my spouse received orders to an overseas duty station and we moved to Great Britain. We spent the next four years traveling and exploring Europe.
2017 By the time we moved back to the States, I was more than ready to get back to my education. I applied to graduate school at Wake Forest University and was accepted into their rigorous CACREP-accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program.
2019 I was invited to join Chi Sigma Iota, the international honor society for counseling.
2020 I began seeing my first clients in January as I began my graduate internship at Bridgeway Center, a community mental health center in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. I stayed with Bridgeway for the duration of 2020 to complete my clinical training (a total of 825 hours). I provided individual psychotherapy for clients with a range of mental health disorders, and co-facilitated the center’s intensive outpatient (IOP) group for clients with substance use disorders.
2021 I graduated from Wake Forest with my M.A. in Counseling. Shortly afterward, I passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHCE) and obtained national board certification (NCC), demonstrating my ongoing commitment to upholding the highest standards of ethics and training within the field. I became provisionally licensed as a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern and moved to a private practice setting, where I provided individual and family psychotherapy to children, adolescents, adults, and couples experiencing anxiety, depression, PTSD, mood disorders, neurodivergence, life transitions, and relationship issues.
2023 After providing over 1,500 postgraduate hours of psychotherapy, I became independently licensed as a Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC).
2025 I opened my solo practice, Emerald Coast Psychotherapy, located in Navarre, FL. I also enrolled at the Florida Psychoanalytic Center in Coral Gables, FL, where I’m currently working through a two-year academic program to become certified in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.