I have been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Mental Health Therapist for over 20 years. I earned my masters in social work at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2002. Since I live in a rural area with little access to mental health services; I have had the opportunity to work with all populations. I have been the most effective in assisting those who experience depression, anxiety (including related diagnoses like OCD and sleep disorders) , and relationship problems (unhealthy and abusive relationships, parenting, and couples counseling). I have worked in all levels of care from psychiatric inpatient, to group homes, crisis centers, and outpatient counseling. A large portion of my work has been in the child welfare system and juvenile system. I have worked with abused and neglected children as well as their parents. I have many military veterans in my life. My family has navigated the VA disability process and I have many ideas to share in order to help clients involved with the VA. I practice through the lens of trauma-informed care and consider the whole person; not just individual symptoms. My approach is eclectic and client-driven. I will assist you in formulating a treatment plan that will be ever adapting to your current needs. My friends describe me as “The most approachable person in the room.” I know how hard is it to seek support and I never make people feel judged or minimize their experiences. Helping people help themselves is my passion. I like the Better Help platform because people can often feel stuck and unable to take the multiple steps needed to seek counseling in a traditional office setting. Online counseling removes many of the barriers that keep people from seeking support. I have had anxious clients who started out with messaging and slowly moved to phone and video as they felt more comfortable. I have been with Better Help for 4 years. I started 1/2020 as the pandemic was starting up and I had the opportunity to work with clients all over the world and see how they were being affected by the illness and local rules and regulations meant to mitigate the spread. I still have three of those clients who started in 2020. It has been very nice to see their progress over a long period of time. I am looking forward to assisting you in meeting your potential and helping improve your daily quality of life! You have taken the first step. Let’s get started.