TRAINING AND BACKGROUND

There is a time for departure even when there’s no certain place to go.
— Tennessee Williams

I am a member of the faculty of the AEDP Institute, and a certified AEDP therapist. AEDP stands for Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy. AEDP was founded by Diana Fosha, and is the basis for my emotionally engaged, transformation-based, healing-oriented style of doing therapy where I help clients to safely experience emotions in the present moment. Click to see my AEDP Faculty bio.

I earned my M.A. in Counseling Psychology, with emphasis in Depth Psychology, from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, California. (Depth psychology acknowledges the rich unconscious processes of life.) My thesis was entitled Shimmering in the Darkness: Bearing Witness to Inconsolable Suffering, and was written about the growth and transformation that can occur when grief is allowed to take its natural yet anguishing course, and how necessary it is for the grieving person to receive unflinching support and help in order to bear the painful feelings of mourning.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), licensed by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, license # 18127.

I am a supervisor for LPC Interns, officially approved by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, license #3125.

I have trained and worked with Hospice Austin supporting dying patients and their families, and bereaved family members with home visits and phone support.

I earned a certificate in spiritual formation from the Seton Cove, an interfaith spirituality center. This certificate program teaches the integration of spiritual and emotional growth, various spiritual disciplines that support seeing through illusions and assumptions about life and that encourage an authentic life, and exploration of the idea that the inward life leads back to community. The content of this certificate supports my view that psychological and spiritual health are intertwined, and informs me in working with a wide range of spiritual perspectives and issues.

I trained and worked at Capital Area Mental Health Center where I worked with a diverse patient population and a wide range of psychological issues. I also participated in a practicum pilot project where we provided on-site psychotherapy to at-risk high school students.

I studied parenting skills with Gail Allen, parent educator, for many years. With Gail I intensively studied parenting methods that are respectful of children, that teach children to treat others with respect, that invite and encourage children to grow into their true selves, and that forge strong positive bonds between parents and their children.