I am a passionate Licensed Professional Counselor and Art Therapist with experience providing individual and group counseling and art therapy to adults seeking to address various life stressors, mood disorders, relational issues, life transitions and trauma. I believe that all people are inherently worthy and deserve to feel well, be seen, and believe that their life is purposeful. We all have significant strengths and qualities that contribute to our uniqueness and I believe these qualities can be leveraged to enhance our well-being, foster relationships, and improve our quality of life. I believe it is essential to be receptive and responsive in the therapeutic process to clients’ own understanding of their problems, including how they are impacted socially, politically, and systemically in their daily life, and the implications of these realities on their sense of well-being. I consider it a privilege to be trusted to hold and honor people’s concerns and experiences, and I seek to create a strong therapeutic alliance with my clients in which they feel safe to show up fully, and express themselves authentically.
I implement an integrative, trauma-responsive approach to therapy that interweaves evidenced-based strategies, existential, multicultural, anti-racist, and womanist theories. I am constantly striving to be aware of how different cultural identities and the intersections of those various identities impact the life experiences and worldviews of clients. I know that culture is an integral aspect of how we understand ourselves, our experiences, and what it means to heal. Thus, I work to bring empathy, validation, and receptiveness into the therapeutic space to foster relationships in which clients feel seen; where their own rich, nuanced identities and their holistic experiences are valued and given credence. Further, I strive to provide strategies, support, and interventions that are culturally relevant, realistic, and accessible. I work to empower clients via traditional and non-traditional strategies, offering alternative paths to expression and processing emotions and experiences. I am excited about the opportunity to join people in their wellness and healing journeys and collaboratively foster a safe, edifying, transformative therapeutic environment and relationship. I strive to help clients adapt to challenges and limitations, and realize their inherent strengths and intrinsic joy.
I graduated from Adler University with a Master of Art in Counseling: Art Therapy degree and have gained significant experience providing individual and group counseling as well as art therapy to a variety of adult populations. I have offered therapy in both inpatient and outpatient settings to veterans, people who are unhoused or temporarily displaced and psychiatrically hospitalized populations. I am rooted in the principles of equity, anti-racism, womanism, LGBTQIA+ rights, disability rights, body positivity, and sex positivity. These values are foundational to who I am and are intentionally interwoven into my therapeutic style as I believe it is only possible to fully support people while acknowledging fullness and complexity of their being. My therapeutic interests include trauma, existentialism, neurodivergence, sexuality, somatic therapy, couples therapy, and perinatal and reproductive mental health.
- IL LPC License Number: 178018952
- Supervised by: Danelle Rhoades, MA, LCPC, PMH-C
- Type 1 NPI Number: 1134903479
- Accepts: BCBS PPO and Blue Choice plans, self-pay and out-of-network clients
Selected Training and Affiliation
- Art Therapy
- Trauma-Informed Therapy
- Advanced Topic in the Treatment of Trauma
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Domestic Violence Training
- Sexuality & Gender Identity Development Training
- Cultural Identity Development Training
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Member of Postpartum Support International
Key Beliefs
Art (all forms of creative expression) is food for the soul.
All people deserve to be well, and have the right to define wellness, and quality of life for themselves.
Therapy is to be collaborative experience, in which people take an active, empowered role in envisioning their personal wellness and healing. I am privileged to join people on their journeys and know we all bring our own strengths and skills into the process.
More About Me
I am and artist, and I love to draw, paint, and collage. Music is my first love; it’s infused in my art and art making process. I love to cook, and I consider it one of my forms of artistry!
I love movies, and love going to the theater to see movies even more!
At one point in my life, I was conversational in Mandarin after studying abroad in China.
