Mental Health Practitioners

I believe all people have a desire to grow and develop into who they were created to be and I am privileged as a mental health professional to walk alongside individuals, couples and families as they pursue health, healing and purpose in life. I am a licensed independent mental health practitioner and work with individuals, couples, families and groups. I engage in counseling with children, adolescents, and adults struggling with a variety of concerns including the effects of trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, relationship issues, grief/loss, parenting, and family/marital conflict. I specialize in helping people who have been impacted by trauma to process the thoughts and feelings related to their past experiences and develop a positive sense of self, meaningful relationships in the present, and hope for their future. I define trauma as any experience that has had lasting negative impact on a person. So much of the anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, body image issues, substance abuse, etc. that clients struggle with are related to unresolved thoughts and emotions connected to past experiences. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from UNL in 2003 and in 2006 received my Master’s Degree in Counseling from UNK. I utilize an integrative approach within my work with clients, which means I tailor my approach to each individual client’s needs, preferences, and counseling goals as opposed to only utilizing one approach. I am trained in various therapeutic modalities including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Sidebar, there are a LOT of acronyms in the world of psychology!! As someone who specializes in working with trauma survivors, I frequently engage clients in a type of therapy called EMDR, which helps clients resolve emotions, negative beliefs about themselves and behavioral patterns related to past trauma, allowing them to come to a deeper sense of who they are, including confidence in their strengths and gifts as well as acceptance of their imperfections. EMDR is the best tool I’ve found for helping people resolve their past and truly move forward into a new chapter of life. For more information about EMDR go to emdria.org. In my personal life, I’m a wife, a mother, a reader, a sports fan and a huge fan of movie series (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Avengers, The Chronicles of Narnia, this list could go on and on…I’m a nerd at heart!) I love Jesus and greatly enjoy working with clients from a Christian perspective if that fits for the person, particularly helping those struggling with accepting God’s love for them and who desire to have a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. I regularly engage in Bible study, sing on the worship team at my local church and help with Sunday school.