My professional life took many turns before I found my way to clinical psychology. I started out in Big Tech, where I worked for five years as a technical writer and program manager. However, I never felt that I was working in areas that deeply mattered. I felt that for my work to be vitally meaningful for me, I needed a change.
I left Big Tech to study nutrition and clinical health psychology at Bastyr University, pursing my lifelong interest and conviction that the way we live (the food we eat, the movement we engage in, the stress we endure) impacts our health in very real ways. I studied at the effects of food on neuroinflammation as well as how psychological processes impact immunological factors (a field called psychoneuroimmunology). I conducted basic science bench research as well as clinical trials of nutritional interventions.
I continued my studies at the University of Iowa, working with Dr. Susan Lutgendorf, a well-known researcher of the psychoneuroimmunology of ovarian cancer. I received extensive training in a variety of clinical approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). As a result, my clinical approach is generally third-wave cognitive behavioral therapy with a strong humanistic influence. This means that I believe change happens when we are unconditionally and authentically accepted, where we can look together at very uncomfortable experiences, such as feeling stuck, ashamed, sad, worried, and angry, and we can practice a variety of skills, including mindfulness, to help live into a life of purpose, meaning and joy.
While I was working on my PhD, I also became a Forrest Yoga teacher. Forrest Yoga is a style of yoga that emphasizes using the practice to address modern ailments, such as back, neck, shoulder, and wrist pain. It also focuses on connecting students with their bodies through mindful breathing and relatively slow, but challenging, sequencing. I conducted an 8-week Forrest Yoga intervention for my dissertation and found reductions in how pain interfered with daily life and fear of movement.
I completed my pre-doctoral internship at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, American Lake division. There, I worked with primary care physicians as well as in the exemplary, CARF-accredited, multi-disciplinary pain clinic.
Now, my clinic focuses in supporting people with health conditions (such as cancer, structural and functional gastrointestinal disorders [Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and functional dyspepsia], HIV and AIDS, diabetes, and chronic pain conditions), as well as those in high pressure jobs at risk of or experiencing burnout (such as the tech industry, healthcare providers, parents and caregivers, and beyond). I also work with parents of children with chronic health conditions to address the whole-family impact they have. While I consider myself a generalist from a mental health perspective, my primary areas of focus are anxiety and depression, and how these conditions impact our health and overall experience of life.
Outside of work, I have two school-aged children and, in the rare moments that our lives aren't in the chaos of parenting-related activities, enjoy spending time with my family exploring the outdoors and experimenting in the kitchen.
For more about the way I work, see the Services and What is "A Rooted Life?" pages.