Personal Experience
Something I’ve come to understand deeply — from my own life, not just from training — is what it’s like to work inside a system that slowly convinces you the problem is you. Before I became a therapist, I spent eleven years working for a large tech firm in Seattle. I know what it looks and feels like when a workplace becomes unsafe, when the power dynamics get complicated, and when the harm doesn’t announce itself clearly enough for anyone around you to name it.
That experience didn’t just shape my career path — it shaped my ability to sit with clients who are trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense, in an environment where they’ve been told — often relentlessly — that they’re the one who’s confused. I know that terrain from the inside, and I think that matters.
I was raised in Ohio and moved to Seattle in 1998. I completed my undergraduate degree in Contemplative Psychology at Naropa University — which gave me a foundational respect for the inner life and the complexity of human experience — and later earned my Master’s in Applied Behavioral Science from Bastyr University. That combination, clinical training layered on top of a contemplative foundation and fifteen years of direct corporate experience, is what I bring to this work.
Supporting Adults Through Narcissistic Abuse & Trauma
There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from being in a relationship — romantic, professional, or family — where you can never quite get your footing. Where the rules keep shifting, where your perceptions are regularly questioned, where you leave conversations feeling worse about yourself than when you entered them. That exhaustion is what brings most of my clients to therapy, and it’s what I’ve devoted my practice to understanding.
Narcissistic abuse is the term we use to describe a pattern of coercive, controlling behaviors that don’t always look like abuse from the outside — and that’s exactly what makes them so disorienting. My work is to help clients reconnect with their own reality, rebuild a sense of self that wasn’t defined by someone else’s needs, and find tools that actually hold up in the real world.
Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying is one of the most under-recognized forms of interpersonal harm — partly because it happens in environments built around productivity and professionalism, where naming the problem can feel risky or even career-ending. I hold certification from the International Bullying Prevention Association and have built a significant portion of my practice around this area, including professional consultations for organizations navigating these dynamics. If your work environment has become a source of ongoing stress, fear, or self-doubt, that’s worth taking seriously — and worth talking to someone about.
Treatment Approach
I draw from a range of approaches depending on what a client actually needs, not what fits neatly into a single protocol. My training includes EMDR for trauma processing, Lifespan Integration, attachment-based therapy, CBT, narrative therapy, and person-centered approaches — among others. What ties all of it together is a belief that you are not the problem. You are a person who developed strategies to survive a difficult situation, and some of those strategies may not be serving you anymore. My job is to help you figure out what will.
Let’s Connect
If you’re ready to stop second-guessing your experience and start building something different, I’d be glad to connect. I offer telehealth sessions only, conducted through secure, HIPAA-compliant software to protect your privacy. Free 15-minute consultations are available.
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Bio
Training & Certification
- EMDR — Specialized trauma processing training
- Lifespan Integration — Advanced training
- Certificate — International Bullying Prevention Association, 2017
- Certificate — International Association of Trauma Professionals, 2017
- Law and Ethics, Joe Shaub
Internship & Employment
Education & Degrees
- Master of Arts, Applied Behavioral Science, Bastyr University (LIOS), 2009
- Bachelor of Arts, Contemplative Psychology, Naropa University
License
- WA DOH Licensed Mental Health Counselor #LH 60634190