About Me
The Chicago Suburbs are in my heart and soul. I’ve lived in the Western Suburbs nearly my entire life and have come to love the easy access to the City along with the refreshing ability to enjoy the open space of the more rural communities. All my life I knew I wanted to help people, but it was not until my time at the University of Iowa for undergraduate studies did I finally narrow my focus. Going into my undergraduate years, I thought medical school was in my future. Then I took my first psychology course, and realized this was what I wanted my future to be dedicated to. Since graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology, I have worked in a group home for children and teens with autism, teaching life-skills and helping them towards the goal of functioning independently. I have also worked in an inpatient hospital-setting helping adolescents and adults struggling with suicide, homicide, and other serious mental health issues to stabilize their crisis situations. I continued to work in the inpatient hospital-setting throughout my graduate training experience. Eventually I obtained my Master’s in Clinical Psychology and then my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Midwestern University. During these years, I also had the experience of working with a university counseling center’s testing department, a private practice’s testing department, a day program for adults with intellectual disabilities and severe mental illness, and a pastoral counseling center (private practice) performing therapy and testing to a variety of individuals.
Clinical Psychology
My clinical focus includes working with adolescent and adult clients to develop and support treatment goals. I also administer diagnostic assessments to clients to aid in their therapy progress. My experience includes working with adolescent and adult individuals with a variety of mental health issues, from mild to severe, while including their spouses or family in sessions to advance the process of therapy. I work with adult individuals whom are struggling in various phases of their life and help them manage the effects of mental health issues. I use cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-commitment therapies to help these individuals understand how their negative thinking patterns affect their behaviors and views of the world. I believe these patterns can be altered and transformed into a healthier lifestyle through mindfulness observation and personal growth while in the safe and compassionate space like LivingRite.
My focus for psychological assessments includes working with children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. I have performed extensive testing to determine ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and learning disability diagnoses for children and adolescents looking to obtain an Individualized Education Plan. My experience with adults in psychological evaluations includes Pre-Bariatric Surgery screenings, diagnoses for college education accommodations, mood and personality disorder evaluations, marriage satisfaction inventories, and intelligence testing. I have collaboratively worked with older adults and their families to assess memory and intellectual functioning with intention of tracking progress of dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disorders.
Education:
PsyD., Midwestern University
M.A. in clinical psychology, Midwestern University
B.S. in psychology, University of Iowa
