As a therapist I utilize the art-making process to support my clients in working through their feelings, conflicts, distress, or celebrations to better support themselves and their emotions. Art as a process intervention shows the creator explanations and answers that can be difficult to access with language. Art therapy is rooted in social justice advocacy so I incorporate a systemic understanding of the world we live in through a lens informed by Internal Family Systems, Attachment Theory, and Intersectional Feminism.

I am passionate about the work that I do in a personal way, having grown through my own art therapy, in addition to my professional training. There is no need to be an artist to work with an art therapist, and no requirement of having ever explored art making before. Art therapy is entirely about focusing on the process, the exploration, and finding meaning in the making; rather than creating a product. This can mean scribbling with a crayon to begin reflection, or cutting images from magazines to create an image that represents identity. Other times it may mean soothing knitting or coloring pages for grounding in session.

As a Queer therapist, I am also extremely passionate about working within my own community, including through validation of shared lived experience. Historically factual truth has left many marginalized identities behind leaving stories of lived experience, or narrative truth, as the primary form of accessible representation. I believe shared lived experiences lend themself to my therapeutic practice as a form of harm reduction to prevent Queer clients from having to educate their practitioners on their unique journeys. I value clarifying and creating a shared language as a means of validating identity when exploring topics of gender identity, expression, including euphoria and dysphoria, sexuality, non-monogamy, LGBTQIA+ families, with or without children, chosen family, and many more topics under the umbrella of Queerness.

My goal as a therapist is to provide a person-centered approach to best support my clients in corrective healing experiences with unconditional positive regard, a relational approach, and a judgment free space. I believe my clients know themselves and their experiences better than anyone else and that they are the experts on themselves in the therapeutic room. I am there to support and provide compassionate affirmation through expressive art and talk therapy practices.