Specialties

I am a generalist, which means that I work with a wide range of issues and concerns in therapy, not just the specialties listed here. Being a generalist also means that I have extensive experience working with the most common issues: anxiety, depression, grief and loss, relationship and family concerns, self esteem, identity development, etc. In addition to these general areas of expertise, I also have unique experience and interest in specific issues and communities, which I describe further below.

One of my core values is celebrating diversity and seeking out different ways of seeing our messy, wild, beautiful world. These values got me interested in working with people with different abilities and world views, such as people on the Autism Spectrum, people with chronic health conditions, medical issues, and physical disabilities, people who identify as transgender or non-binary, and people with ADHD and other diverse learning styles.  

ADHD & ADD

I began working extensively with students with ADHD during my doctoral internship at University of California, Santa Barbara, where my supervisor Liz and I co-led a workshop-style group for anyone wanting to work on often ADHD-related issues: procrastination, distraction and attention, time management, memory, and organization. I found that I learned more from the students than we could teach them!  The groups were energetic and creative, and students shared many of their own brilliant strategies for focusing their attention and doing the work they loved.  This inspired me to continue offering strength-based groups for ADHD-related issues, and since then I have facilitated multiple Find Your Focus groups at Albion College and University of Michigan as well.   I truly enjoy working with clients with different learning styles, and I have fine-tuned my ADHD coaching style over the last few years so that I can support both individuals and groups.  Please feel free to contact me for more information about ADHD-related services. 

Autism Spectrum

My work in the autism community began as a researcher working with young children and families, and has since become one of the cornerstones of my career.  I started doing in-home interventions with kids to support their community participation, and this eventually led to co-founding a summer camp for kids on the autism spectrum with a team of friends and family who were just as passionate about providing accessible recreation to all children.  Camp Tall Tree has been held in southeast Michigan since 2013 and it offers kids, teens, and young adults a week of traditional summer camp.

In my work as a staff psychologist at U of Michigan's counseling center, I also worked extensively with clients who identified as being on the autism spectrum. I was able to start a self-advocacy and support group there that has continued on for several years.  I am passionate about the idea of neurodiversity and valuing the wide spectrum of world views we hold as humans.  My individual and group psychotherapy with members of the autism community has been both a privilege and a lot of fun, and I hope to continue to offer a safe, compassionate space for people with autism to pursue therapy.  

Chronic Health Conditions

For over ten years, I was the Mental Health Consultant at Dragonfly Forest, a free summer camp for kids with autism and special medical needs, such as hemophilia, sickle cell disease, persistent asthma, and 22Q Deletion Syndrome.  Many of the counselors had the same diagnoses as the campers, and had been campers themselves, so in my work as the only mental health professional on staff, I got to know children, teens, and adults who were dealing with things like chronic pain, daily treatments, and complex medical conditions. However, they were not just "dealing" but also thriving and pursuing their dreams, and I saw how extra community and social support allowed more of those big dreams to come true.  I started a therapy group called Living Well at the University of Michigan counseling center, and many students found that the extra support made a big difference when it came to managing the stress of being a student with a complex health condition.  I have also provided individual and long-term psychotherapy to many clients with medical needs, and I welcome the chance to continue this work in the future.    

Transgender & All Genders

In 2005 I took weekend-long graduate course focused on Transgender Voices. I learned a lot about the limitations of the gender binary, the spectrum of gender identities, and the many challenges facing trans communities.  I have continued to seek out more knowledge and to learn ways to support not just trans folks but also LGBTQIA+ communities.  At Stanford University I was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Gender and Sexual Identities (GSI) Specialty Track, and I co-facilitated the GSI doctoral rotation for interns.  At University of Michigan, I was on the transgender care team for the counseling center, and I am experienced in providing referral letters for hormones and/or surgery, working from an informed consent model. 

College Students & Graduate Students

I worked in University and College Counseling Centers (UCCs) for 15 years, and currently in my private practice about half of my clients are students. It is one of my passions to work with young adults, nontraditional students, and grad students as they pursue their education and training. Having worked on five different campuses, I have a broad range of experience with the personal and professional issues facing students, as well as valuable institutional knowledge that can help students navigate the politics, hidden curriculums, and cultural norms of our university systems.

I have spent over 15 years learning, training, and listening in order to develop myself as a true ally in support of these multi-faceted communities.  This is a life-long process that I approach with respect, humility, and dedication, and I seek new ways to deepen my knowledge of both myself and my fellow community members through my work as a therapist, activist, and advocate.   I am always open to feedback about my work and website, please feel free to contact me with comments.