Therapist in Asheville, NC

In 2011, I graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education. Growing up playing drums, I assumed I wanted to be a music teacher. However, 2 years into teaching left me feeling unsatisfied – like something was missing. After some soul searching, I realized what I appreciate most in life is deep, authentic, and vulnerable relationships. I desired this kind of connection in my day to day, but sadly, the only place I found the world offering it was in the therapy room. Driven by my hunger for this authenticity, I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2014 with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Upon graduating, I found myself working in psychiatric hospitals and detox units offering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in individual and group settings. While working with these clients, I noticed we kept hitting a wall in our work. It began to dawn on me that talk therapy was only getting my clients so far in their healing. They became very knowledgeable of themselves but struggled to overcome the issues that led them to counseling in the first place. Out of my frustration and curiosity, I began to explore a different approach to healing – a more body-based perspective as opposed to a strictly cognitive model. I found myself learning about the nature of trauma through studying approaches such as Somatic Experiencing (SE), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP), Attachment Theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS) and EMDR.

I have been incorporating these body-based approaches since 2016, experiencing great success with my clients, helping them experience the deeper, lasting, and permanent changes they desire. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful to have landed in my calling. I love my work and look forward to building healthy and meaningful relationships with my clients.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from The University of Georgia (2011)
• Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2014)
• (LCMHC) Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor

TRAININGS

• Advanced Training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (2014)
• Trained in Facilitating Group Therapy for Addiction and Detox (2014)
• Certified in Human Givens Rewind Technique for PTSD (2015)
• Advanced Training in Somatic Experiencing (2016)
• Certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) (2019)
• Self-study in IFS (Internal Family Systems) (2022)