Get to Know Me

My educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master of Science in Counseling Psychology. My primary focus during my Master’s at Alaska Pacific University was children and families, particularly play therapy. After graduation, I pursued specialized training in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), fetal alcohol syndrome, autism, Filial Therapy, and play therapy. I received certification as a Registered Play Therapist and have continued to focus my career and training on families and children, birth through the teenage years.
Additionally, I am a psychometrician. This means I assist with neuropsychological testing for children 18 and under, and administer developmental assessments on infants and toddlers who are at higher risk for developmental delays. The knowledge and experience I gain from this portion of my work impacts the way I view the therapy process. Understanding the cognitive processes of a child’s thinking can help tailor play therapy to the child’s unique strengths and weaknesses.

I believe you can discover more about a child, or adult, in an hour of play than in an hour of conversation. When we truly play, inhibitions are down and we are able to be our most genuine selves. Children do not always have the language they need to work through their struggles. If we listen and allow the toys to be their words and play to be their language, they tell us so much. Every child is wonderfully unique, sometimes they just need help developing their tools to be their best self.