“Not living up to your potential.”
Is this feedback you’ve been given or secretly wondered about yourself? I know what it feels like to be focused and engaged at work and home but to be utterly unable to connect to the joy and satisfaction that should come from the life you have around you.
I know what it’s like to have your connection with family and coworkers blunted by the obsessive thoughts that substance abuse creates. I know what it’s like to have an external life that looks like success but an internal life that makes you feel, well, like a fraud.
I got sober, learned to manage stress, and enjoy life. I have happily lived through all major celebrations, rites of passage, seasons of life, life’s minor and major stressors, career, and life demands and all the joys and challenges life throws at you – all while sober.
At about 15 years sober, during one of the stressful times, I returned to school and combined my life experience with a lot of academic and professional training and now it’s my mission to help other professionals learn how to live comfortably sober.
My Story
Being a full time psychotherapist is an “encore” career for me after 10 years of teaching parenting followed by 10 years of being a high school teacher and administrator. But life circumstances necessitated a new plan. My 3 “kids” are now in their 20’s and they are all at various levels of education and career building. My home includes various furry creatures who all have Latin names that match their personality.
Education and Credentials
My undergraduate degrees are in English (because at the time, I never thought I wanted to teach), and Business (because I like to pay the mortgage and eat). Many years later, I returned to the classroom with something called a laptop and earned my Masters in Counseling. 10 years after that, I returned again to earn my Doctor of Professional Counseling which was conferred in December 2022.
After graduating Summa Cum Laude, I earned my Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor credentials. I later added Substance Abuse Professional. My job roles have included being the Clinical Director and Director of Family Services at a residential treatment facility for substance abuse treatment, working in a psychiatric emergency room, opening a well-respected non-profit bereavement support satellite, managing Intensive Outpatient Treatment (IOP) for substance abuse treatment, working for a major insurance company, and as an Assistant Principal and School Counselor at a small Junior High and High School.
My specialty helping professionals evaluate and understand the nature of their substance abuse problem and building a holistic treatment plan emerged when I ran IOP and observed that professionals do not have enough access to evidence based, discreet, custom treatment planning.
Licensure
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC-S)
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT-S)
- Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC)
- Substance Abuse Professional (SAP)
Certifications
- Advanced Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher
- Tai Chi EZ Practice Leader
- Appreciative Living Learning Circle Leader
