EMPOWERMENT. PURPOSE. PEACE. Hello. I am a pet lover with two cats, Leo and Bella and small dog named Niko; a mother of three grown women; and love the performing arts, especially modern dance. I have been counseling for 25 years, eleven of those years at the community college level. I now own a small private practice and enjoy guiding people through their journey of self discovery. I especially enjoy being part of empowering people to find purpose in their lives in order to live peacefully. I acquired a PhD from Capella University in Human Services, a MEd from DePaul University in Counseling, and a BA degree from Barat College in Psychology and Dance, the place that I fell in love with modern dance. I have worked with college student’s personal, academic and career related issues, the homeless, and the chronically mentally ill. My approach to helping you is based in humanistic psychology, which is looking into the whole self in order to live a happier, self-actualizing and creative life. To achieve this, we will explore your symptoms, personality and love languages. Then we engage in CBT (cognitive behavior therapy), which looks deeply into your belief system, thoughts, and values that impact your behaviors. How our beliefs have formed impact what we say, how we feel, and how we react to situations and others. Sometimes, our beliefs can be irrational and contribute to anxiety and/or depression. Our coping styles can be healthy and/or unhealthy, our self-talk can be negative or positive. We will work towards learning healthy coping skills, self-care, and over coming negative thinking with a positive, strength based focus. My ideal client is one that is at least 18 years of age that is ready to make changes in their life in order to maximize their quality of life, personal enjoyment, and find peace. I am here to help you discover your true self and embrace your “New Normal”. The utilization of various assessments allows you and I to partner in the development of a customized treatment plan.