Gottman Referral Network

About

My career unknowingly began…
… when I volunteered at an orphanage in Russia during college.

As I played dolls with a 10-year-old girl in a room she shared with three others, I couldn’t help but recall the image of a dark car picking up girls outside the orphanage – girls just a few years older than her. I was scared that would be her future, too.

Later in the trip, I went to a family center where the goal was to help families avoid the social pitfalls that create orphans in the first place. Working on prevention and giving these families hope inspired me to become a marriage and family therapist. My mission is to help families stay together and live happier, healthier lives.

After graduate school I did in-home therapy in Wisconsin. Working with people in their homes showed me there’s no “right way” to live. I see those experiences as foundational in the nonjudgmental, tailored approach to therapy I use today.

I’ve also worked in hospitals in Chicago and Colorado, focusing on crisis and stabilization. When people arrive at a hospital, they’re often at their most vulnerable – using their last option for help. Being a safe presence for them during these low times taught me compassion on a greater level.

I returned to Wisconsin to build my private practice. I am a Somatic Experiencing Provider (trauma work using mind/body connections) and Certified Gottman Therapist. I wanted to combine my trauma-informed treatment experience, nonjudgmental stance, and compassion for others in my practice.

Special populations

Trauma, Infertility, Perinatal