THERAPEUTIC APPROACH

My philosophy of counseling begins and ends with grace. I believe healing happens when people feel truly seen, heard, understood, and supported. My approach is grounded in curiosity, compassion, respect, trust, and a commitment to creating a therapeutic relationship where clients feel safe enough to be authentic.

Therapy is not about fixing what is “broken.” It is about reconnecting with yourself, understanding the experiences that have shaped you, and creating the opportunity for healing, growth, and transformation. I believe every person has the capacity to heal when they have the right support, tools, and space to process their experiences.

I approach therapy from a whole-person perspective, recognizing the connection between emotional health, physical experiences, relationships, identity, and personal meaning. Together, we will explore your story, understand the patterns that have developed throughout your life, and identify the beliefs and coping strategies that may no longer be serving you.

My role is to come alongside you—to provide support, challenge you when needed, and help you reconnect with your own strengths, resilience, and inner wisdom. I do not believe anyone is “broken,” “too damaged,” or beyond hope. People are remarkable, and healing is possible.

Areas of Clinical Focus

Narcissistic Abuse, Psychological Abuse & Coercive Control

I specialize in supporting individuals who are healing from narcissistic abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, and high-conflict relationships. These experiences can be deeply confusing and emotionally exhausting, often leaving individuals questioning their reality, their worth, and their ability to trust themselves.

Many survivors experience the effects of chronic criticism, manipulation, gaslighting, blame shifting, emotional invalidation, control, or relational instability. Over time, these experiences can impact self-esteem, boundaries, emotional regulation, and the ability to feel safe in relationships.

Therapy provides a space to understand these patterns, rebuild self-trust, process trauma, strengthen boundaries, and reconnect with your identity outside of the relationship. My goal is to help you move from confusion and survival toward clarity, empowerment, and healing.

Attachment Trauma & Relational Wounds

I specialize in helping individuals understand how attachment experiences influence the way we relate to ourselves and others. Early experiences of inconsistency, emotional neglect, abandonment, invalidation, or unsafe relationships can shape our beliefs about love, trust, safety, and connection.

Attachment wounds can impact adult relationships through patterns such as fear of abandonment, difficulty trusting, people-pleasing, emotional avoidance, difficulty setting boundaries, or feeling responsible for others’ emotions.

Together, we will explore these patterns with compassion and curiosity while developing healthier ways to relate to yourself and others. Therapy can help you build greater emotional security, self-compassion, and healthier relationship patterns.

Betrayal Trauma & Relationship Healing

I work with individuals and couples impacted by betrayal, broken trust, and relational injuries. Betrayal can create profound emotional wounds that affect safety, intimacy, communication, and connection.

Whether you are healing after infidelity, emotional betrayal, or significant relational injury, therapy can provide a space to process pain, understand relationship patterns, rebuild trust when possible, and make thoughtful decisions about the future of the relationship.

High-Conflict Couples Therapy & Relationship Repair

I specialize in working with couples who are experiencing high levels of conflict, emotional disconnection, repeated arguments, trust injuries, and relationship patterns that feel difficult to change. Many couples find themselves caught in cycles of escalation, defensiveness, criticism, withdrawal, or feeling misunderstood despite their desire to reconnect.

High-conflict relationships often involve deeper patterns beneath the surface, including attachment wounds, unresolved trauma, emotional triggers, differences in communication styles, unmet needs, and struggles with emotional regulation. My goal is to help couples understand the patterns driving conflict rather than simply focusing on the arguments themselves.

Using approaches informed by Relational Life Therapy (RLT), Gottman Method principles, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and attachment-based approaches, we will work to identify destructive cycles, increase accountability, improve communication, strengthen emotional safety, and develop healthier ways of relating.

I also work with couples navigating significant relational injuries, including betrayal, loss of trust, emotional disconnection, and the aftermath of painful relationship experiences. Therapy can help couples determine whether they are rebuilding, redefining, or thoughtfully transitioning their relationship while creating a space where both partners can be heard and understood.

For couples experiencing high conflict, the goal is not simply to stop fighting—it is to create a relationship where both partners can feel respected, emotionally safe, and connected.

Developmental Trauma & Shame

I work with individuals who have experienced trauma, developmental trauma, family-of-origin wounds, and shame-based beliefs that impact how they see themselves and their relationships.

Many people develop protective patterns that helped them survive difficult experiences but later create struggles with self-worth, emotional regulation, relationships, and feeling safe in the world.

Therapy provides an opportunity to understand these patterns, develop self-compassion, process painful experiences, and create new ways of relating to yourself and others.

Grief, Chronic Illness & Terminal Illness

My clinical journey began in the medical field, where I developed a deep understanding of the emotional impact of illness, loss, and life-changing diagnoses. Through this work, I learned that grief is not limited to the death of a loved one—it is woven into many of life’s most significant transitions, changes, and experiences of loss.

I specialize in supporting individuals and families navigating chronic illness, terminal illness, medical uncertainty, and the many forms of grief that accompany these experiences. A diagnosis or major health change can impact every area of life, including identity, relationships, independence, future hopes, and one’s sense of safety in the world.

Living with chronic or terminal illness often involves grieving the life you expected, changes in your body or abilities, shifts in relationships, loss of routines, and uncertainty about the future. Family members and caregivers may also experience emotional exhaustion, anticipatory grief, fear, helplessness, and the challenges of supporting someone they love while caring for themselves.

Therapy provides a compassionate space to process these complex emotions, including sadness, anger, fear, guilt, uncertainty, and the many conflicting feelings that can arise during illness and loss. Together, we will explore ways to honor what has changed, strengthen coping strategies, find meaning, and develop resilience while navigating an experience that may not have been chosen but can still hold moments of connection, growth, and purpose.

My goal is to walk alongside you through the uncertainty and pain while helping you reconnect with your strengths, values, relationships, and sense of self.

Therapy for Therapists & Helping Professionals

I have a special interest in supporting therapists and other helping professionals who carry the emotional weight of caring for others. Working in the mental health and healthcare fields can be deeply meaningful, but it can also bring unique challenges, including compassion fatigue, burnout, secondary trauma, emotional exhaustion, and difficulty prioritizing your own needs.

As clinicians, we are often skilled at supporting others while struggling to extend that same compassion and care toward ourselves. Therapy can provide a confidential space to process the challenges of the profession, explore personal patterns, strengthen boundaries, and reconnect with your own values, identity, and well-being.

I support therapists and helping professionals navigating:

• Compassion fatigue and burnout

• Secondary or vicarious trauma

• Emotional exhaustion and overwhelm

• Work-life balance and boundaries

• Professional identity and self-doubt

• Difficult client experiences

• Personal trauma and relational challenges

• Transitions within the mental health profession

My goal is to provide a space where helping professionals can step out of the role of caregiver and receive the same compassion, support, and understanding they provide to others.

Therapeutic Approaches

I believe therapy is not one-size-fits-all. I tailor my approach to each client’s unique needs by integrating evidence-based approaches, including:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – Helps identify and change unhelpful thought patterns while building practical coping strategies.

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – Helps clients develop psychological flexibility and create a life aligned with their values.

• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) – Supports emotional connection, relationship healing, and understanding attachment needs.

• Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Helps clients understand and heal different parts of themselves while developing self-compassion.

• Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) – A trauma-focused approach that helps reduce the emotional intensity of distressing memories and experiences.

• Somatic Therapy – Supports healing through awareness of the mind-body connection and the physical impact of trauma and stress.

• Attachment-Based Therapy – Explores how attachment experiences influence current emotions, relationships, and patterns of connection.

• Relational Life Therapy (RLT) – Helps couples identify unhealthy relationship patterns, increase accountability, improve communication, and create healthier connection.

• Gottman-Informed Therapy – Uses research-based strategies to strengthen friendship, communication, conflict management, and trust.

• Trauma-Informed Therapy – Creates a safe, collaborative environment that promotes healing, empowerment, and resilience.

Populations Served

Adults and couples.

Specialties

• Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

• Psychological & Emotional Abuse

• Coercive Control

• High-Conflict Relationships

• Betrayal Trauma

• Intimate Partner Relational Trauma

• Attachment Trauma & Attachment Wounds

• Developmental/Family-of-Origin Trauma

• Couples & Relationship Therapy

• Chronic & Terminal Illness

• Complicated Grief

• Life Transitions

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Therapy for Therapists and Helping Professionals

Availability

Monday–Wednesday. Daytime appointments available.

Utah License: 5371236-3501 (LCSW)

Idaho License: LCSW-42567