My Philosophy...

My personal, family, and parenting experiences have given me "life" perspective so that I more fully understand, appreciate, and respect the twists and turns of each person’s individual journey. Whether I’m working with a child or adolescent, a family, an adult, a couple or co-parents- my therapeutic approach always considers the bigger picture of your family and the world in which you live.

I’ve worked in many different places and have had the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life during the 30+ years that I've been practicing clinical social work. These experiences have helped me understand the many different issues that plague daily living and interfere with relationships and the ability to have happiness.

In our work together, I'll use a variety of treatment approaches and strategies, from cognitive behavioral therapy and systems theory to coaching, depending on your particular circumstances and needs. The goal is to alleviate immediate distress, encourage development of insight of the deeper underlying causes of problems and move into lasting change.

I believe that therapy doesn't always have to be completely serious... sometimes I'm a little sarcastic and I promise you that we will laugh a little along the way. I always try to balance professionalism with humanism and genuine care. I'm always "real".

My Experience...

I earned my Bachelor's Degree from Berry College and my Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Georgia. I've been providing psychotherapy services to children, adolescents, adults, families, and couples since 1994. I have experience working in a wide variety of clinical settings including residential treatment for chronically mentally ill adults, residential and independent living programs for children and adolescents, in-patient hospital, and private practice.

My clinical skills and strengths are crisis stabilization; assessment; individual, family and couples therapy; premarital therapy; parent training; divorce recovery and work with high-conflict co-parents. In addition to these in-office therapy services, I've taught parenting skills classes to community groups, served as a consultant and staff trainer to residential facilities, and presented numerous presentations to local school and church organizations.

My Professional Affiliations...

I've been a member of the the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Workers for several years. I've been on their Board of Directors as President (2017-2019), President-Elect (2016) and former Co-Chairperson of the Ethics Committee (2014-2016).

Through The Center for Navigating Family Change (CNFC), I provide parenting coordination and family reunification services to high conflict separated or divorced parents. I also teach the "Advanced Issues in Co-Parenting" class monthly. As the CNFC Clinical Director, I supervise the clinical work for all cases for all contracted providers.

My Passions...

While I have experience in working with many different populations, my passion is working with women to empower them to discover what they want and to have the courage to make the choices needed to create their best life. Being able to juggle all of the different responsibilities and roles, and then learning how to adjust to all of the curve balls that life throws at women can be overwhelming. Being able to help make this process a bit easier is one of the most rewarding things I do.

Another area of specialty for me is helping parents move forward through divorce and separation. Co-parent conflict is damaging for the co-parents and the children. I love teaching and coaching co-parents effective skills so they can become everything they need to be for their children.