I am a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Virginia. I earned a Masters of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and I earned a Bachelors of Social Work from Indiana University. During that time, I also completed course work in Biblical Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary. I began my practice in 1996 and have clinical experience working with individuals, couples and families. I have practiced in inpatient, day program, and outpatient settings. In these settings, I have treated a variety of individuals, from those with serious mental illnesses & substance dependence to individuals dealing with difficult life transitions. Presently, I work with clients facing the following issues:
depression
anxiety
anger
perfectionism
poor self-image
social anxiety/shyness
marital stress
communication/conflict resolution
life transitions
"mommy guilt"
parenting stresses
I utilize clinically proven therapy techniques, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. My goal is to use my training, knowledge and skills to walk along side each person, in order to help them make and meet their goals. I am also a trained facilitator for PREPARE/ENRICH curriculum for couples. For those wanting faith-based therapy, I seek to help clients work through their issues using therapeutic methods that are consistent with a Christian worldview and the teachings of the Bible. Need a Speaker for your Moms Group? I am available to speak on the topics below for your Preschool, MOPS, or other groups supporting Moms. Speaking Topics
Taming Anger (Inside and Out) - Being a mom can be FRUSTRATING! Just getting kids ready and out of the house can push our patience to the limit. We want to be calm Mamas but we lose it. We yell and say and do things we regret. Or we stuff those feelings and stew about them for hours. Anger is part of life but how we deal with this anger has huge consequences. In this session, we will identify how we respond to angry feelings and discuss ways to deal with anger in a healthy, constructive way. Managing Fear, Stress, and Worry - From the moment we find out we are pregnant or adopting, we begin to worry. As our children grow, our worries change with each life stage. Concern for our children is part of our Mommy DNA, but when worries or fears grow, they can begin to cloud our judgement and steal our peace. In this session, we will identify how our worries effect us and our families and discuss tools to manage these emotions in a healthy way. Tackling "Mommy Guilt" - Guilt can be a constant companion for many moms. We battle with the disconnect between how we want to be as a mother and the reality of day-to-day mothering. We hear the "shoulds" of our culture, seek the advice of "the experts", and endlessly compare ourselves to other moms. Our list of "Good Mom" qualities grow while our energy wains. We can end up feeling like terrible mothers. We either exhaust ourselves (and our families) in the elusive pursuit of the perfect family or we just give up trying but continue to battle with the guilt. In this session, we will identify from where this guilt comes, how it effects our family and identify tools to begin to combat "false guilt" and respond appropriately to "healthy guilt". Finding Purpose in the Chaos - Motherhood can be very rewarding. However, there are also times and seasons where that sense fulfillment is lost. Changing one more diaper, running one more carpool, cleaning up another mess that will reappear within hours (or minutes!) is exhausting. Sometimes it seems all we do as mothers doesn't matter. Then throw in our other roles as wives, sisters, friends, daughters, employees, bosses, church members, and community members and that can spell CHAOS! In this session, we will spend time exploring all these facets of ourselves and identify some tools to see how God is weaving all these threads into the tapestry of our purpose. I am available to speak on any of these topics but I am adding talks so feel free to contact
me to see if the subjects in which your Moms are interested is something I can address.
