My Approach
Curiosity, creativity, and compassion— I believe these qualities are essential for effective psychotherapy. Here’s how I bring them into every session:
Curiosity: I want to hear all about you! No detail is insignificant; everything relates in some way to the bigger picture, even if we can’t see it at first. 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 make connections between your past and present.
Creativity: With your input, I will carefully tailor my 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 practical 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 peaceful space that’s focused on understanding you. You’ll find no judgement here. It’s important that you’re able to relax and feel safe and comfortable during your session, so I keep my office sensory-friendly with warm lamplight, comfortable furnishings, and gentle white noise to minimize any distractions as we chat.
My therapeutic approach is trauma-informed and guided by concepts from humanistic therapy, existential therapy, relational therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. When needed, I incorporate skill-based interventions from third-wave modalities such as ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) and MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy).
I’m dedicated to helping my clients learn from their past, navigate their present, and plan for their future.
Education, Training, & Experience
2007 - 2009 I started college in my early twenties with the intent of becoming an art therapist. I double-majored in Visual Arts and Psychology until 2009, when I moved to the Gulf Coast of Florida and took a year-long break from my studies.
2010 When I transferred to University of West Florida for my junior year, I decided to drop the art major to pursue a psych degree exclusively. I threw myself into learning everything I could about the field. In addition to my regular courses, I worked as a research assistant for Dr. Lisa VanWormer in what was then called UWF’s Attention and Memory Lab, where we studied the effects of aging on cognition. At the end of my first semester, I was awarded the Psychology Junior Excellence Award and invited to join the national honor society, Phi Kappa Phi.
2011 I made UWF’s President’s List in my senior year and ranked in the first percentile for my major. I completed a minor in Child Welfare with a focus on adolescent development and psychology, began shadowing a local ABA therapist who worked with children with autism, and continued assisting Dr. VanWormer in the Attention and Memory Lab. In April, I helped present our cognitive aging research at UWF’s first Student Scholars Symposium; our project, titled “The Roles of Visual Short-Term Memory and Working Memory in Change Detection,” tied for first place in the Graduate Collaborative division.
2012 - 2016 A few days after graduating summa cum laude with my B.A. in Psychology, I gave birth to my first child and temporarily put my career plans on hold in order to focus on motherhood. One year later, my spouse received orders to an overseas duty station and we moved to the United Kingdom. We spent the next four years traveling and exploring Europe.
2017 In the summer of 2017, we moved back to the States and I immediately applied to graduate school at Wake Forest University. I was accepted into their rigorous CACREP-accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program that fall and started my first semester early the next year.
2019 I was invited to become a member of Chi Sigma Iota, the international honor society for counseling, and was inducted into the organization in December.
2020 I began seeing my first clients in January when 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 that year as I completed my clinical training (825 hours). I provided individual psychotherapy for clients with a range of mental health issues and co-facilitated the center’s intensive outpatient (IOP) group for clients with substance use disorders.
2021 In May, I graduated from Wake with my M.A. in Counseling. Shortly afterward I passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHCE) and obtained my 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 (FL) 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, relationship issues, and issues related to sexuality and gender identity.
2023 After providing over 1,500 postgraduate hours of psychotherapy, I became independently licensed in Florida as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC).
2025 I opened my solo practice, Emerald Coast Psychotherapy, located in Navarre, FL. I also enrolled in 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.