About Me

From an early age, I was drawn to meaning, connection, and beauty, even amid uncertainty. Writing music became a sanctuary, a language through which emotion could take form and find balance. Later, mindfulness and meditation deepened my capacity to meet life’s challenges with clarity and calm. These early experiences continue to inform my therapeutic approach, which draws upon contemplative psychotherapy, neuroscience, and integrative approaches to emotional and spiritual development. I emphasize self-reflection as a path toward healing and place particular importance on how the brain and nervous system respond to adversity and repair.

Exploring generational trauma through my mother’s experiences in wartime Germany strengthened my conviction that healing involves far more than resolving individual pain. Trauma often lives across generations, shaped by displacement, war, and structural injustice, and its transformation is both a personal and collective process. My understanding of resilience was further shaped by years spent living abroad, where I witnessed how individuals and communities found strength amid conflict and uncertainty. These experiences deepened my commitment to creating spaces for authentic healing and mutual understanding.

Spiritual understanding, to me, is inseparable from true well-being. Health is not merely the absence of suffering, but the awakening of our innate capacities—the powers of love, reason, and will that allow us to transform adversity into insight and growth. Healing is the process through which these capacities are refined, giving rise to coherence, compassion, and a deeper sense of purpose within the larger human story.

As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), my approach integrates evidence-based modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Trauma-Focused Therapy, and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. I also draw upon Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Contemplative Psychotherapy, approaches that bridge neuroscience, psychology, and reflective practice. I view emotional healing as a process that unfolds through awareness, purpose, and presence, guided by a steady conviction in the human capacity for transformation.

My training includes advanced study in Child and Adolescent Trauma, Developmental Trauma, Trauma-Informed Care, Mindfulness Meditation, and Somatic Experiencing. Over the years, I have shared my work at professional conferences and educational institutions, including the Greater Philadelphia Area Counselors Association, speaking on themes such as contemplative awareness, intrinsic motivation toward service, and the integration of spirituality within clinical practice. These experiences arise from a wish to understand and contribute to the ways in which psychology, contemplative practice, and the awakening of human capacities sustain the healing and wholeness of the human spirit.

Outside of my counseling work, I find joy in farming with my husband, traveling to visit our children and grandchildren, and creating sea glass mosaics - a practice that reminds me how beauty often emerges from brokenness.

One of my greatest privileges is to offer the kind of presence I once needed myself: someone who listens deeply, honors complexity, and trusts in each person’s ability to grow. While we cannot always change our past, we can transform our relationship with it, and in doing so, begin to reclaim a sense of wholeness.