About Me
I am a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor based in Stillwater, Oklahoma. I'm a small-town, homegrown Oklahoman with deep roots and a strong sense of community. I earned my bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2003 and my master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2007, both from Oklahoma State University.
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Since 2008, I’ve worked at OSU specializing in helping college students navigate substance use and mental health concerns. In addition to my university work, I’ve maintained a part-time private practice since 2013. While I clearly love OSU, I welcome people from all backgrounds. You don’t have to "bleed orange" to work with me!
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I’m a Certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapist and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Trainer. I’m also a Faculty Licensee with the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. My areas of special interest include EMDR therapy with addiction, sexual trauma, and first responders. With a father who is a retired firefighter and EMT and a brother who is an active firefighter and paramedic, first responders hold a special place in my heart.
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Currently, my clinical focus is on individual EMDR therapy for clients ages 16 and older. I do not typically see couples or children under age 16. Over the years, I have worked in a variety of settings, including inpatient and outpatient substance use treatment programs and domestic violence programs. I have experience treating individuals, couples, and families facing challenges such as substance use disorders, behavioral addictions, anxiety, depression, childhood trauma, grief, and concerns related to being the adult child of an alcoholic or addict.
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I’m naturally inquisitive (some might call it nosy), empathic, and a bit sarcastic. I’m passionate about building strong therapeutic relationships, which are essential for supporting the depth of work inherent in EMDR. I do my best to cultivate a relaxed and easygoing conversational flow where vulnerability and growth can bloom. However, you won’t find any live plants in my office since I’m not exactly a green thumb! I genuinely welcome feedback, whether it’s positive, constructive, or somewhere in between.
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I’m a big fan of self-care! In my free time, I enjoy reading, napping, watching reality TV, spending time outdoors (ideally on a beach in a hammock), watching my two kiddos do things they love, practicing yoga, people watching, and attending concerts with my husband. I love to travel but I’m always ready to come home. You might spot a Brené Brown quote or two framed in my office.
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I consider myself fortunate to have found a career that suits me well and even luckier to have discovered EMDR therapy. It’s an honor to walk (or rather sit) alongside people on their healing journeys. Consulting and training have added new depth to my work and given me the opportunity to support and inspire fellow clinicians as they discover their own passion for EMDR therapy.
My EMDR Therapy Training
By 2013, I considered myself a solid therapist. I had shaken off most of the beginning therapist jitters and arrived at a place where I felt comfortable. Resting on comfort had its appeal, but I knew I struggled to jump the trauma hurdle with clients; talk therapy only took us so far. Enter EMDR therapy. I’d heard it mentioned in professional circles and mostly knew what EMDR stood for… eye movement de(something) and reprocessing. I braved DFW traffic to get to Part I training. I went into day one with skepticism which was shattered minutes into my first practicum. I felt EMDR therapy begin to work and was ultimately floored by my experience as a client. I went into day two thinking, crap, I’ve got to pay attention because now that I know, I know. I’m going to have to figure out how to present EMDR therapy to clients (who will undoubtedly be skeptical when I ask them to follow my fingers) and I’m going to have to integrate EMDR therapy into who I am as an already “solid” therapist.
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Fast forward to today; I am an EMDR Certified Therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, and Institute for Creative Mindfulness Faculty Licensee. Nothing brings more joy professionally than consulting with and training EMDR therapists. Well, wait just a minute, when a sexual assault survivor shifts from the belief “I am dirty” to “I am pure,” there may be nothing better. I know though, as an EMDR therapy consultant and trainer, I am equipping you with the ability to walk this path with your clients. While I recognize there are many ways to heal (reference equifinality-the graduate school principle we all learned), EMDR therapy is the path I’ve seen time and time again lead to the most comprehensive healing in the gentlest way. I certainly pull from other modalities, most notably systems theory, motivational interviewing, mindfulness practices, somatic work, ego state work, CBT, and other modalities as clinically relevant. EMDR therapy training undoubtedly requires an investment of time, money, and effort as well as a departure from your comfort zone. I hope that, like me, you will decide EMDR therapy was the best professional development dollars ever spent! Never have I attended conferences filled with happier, more professionally satisfied therapists, than EMDRIA conferences. All therapists know this speaks volumes!
