Our Team

Graduate Student Intern

I am a graduate student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Missouri Baptist University. Before pursuing a career in counseling, I spent 12 years as a professional dancer in Los Angeles. My experiences in the performing arts gave me a unique understanding of identity, performance pressure, resilience, major life transitions, and what can happen when a career or role becomes deeply connected to a person’s sense of self.

During my time in Los Angeles, I also worked with foster and at-risk youth, using dance and creative expression to build confidence, encourage emotional expression, and foster meaningful connections. These experiences ultimately strengthened my desire to pursue counseling and continue supporting children, individuals, and families in a therapeutic setting.

My clinical interests include working with individuals and couples navigating divorce, family court involvement, separation, and the complexities of co-parenting. I recognize that these experiences can involve much more than the end of a relationship—they can affect identity, parenting, family relationships, emotional well-being, and a person’s sense of stability. My goal is to provide a supportive and nonjudgmental space where clients can process these changes, strengthen communication and boundaries, and move forward in ways that support both their own well-being and that of their families.

I also work with children and adolescents from infancy through age 18, incorporating developmentally appropriate and play-based therapeutic techniques. I believe children often communicate their experiences through play, behavior, creativity, and relationships long before they have the words to fully explain what they are feeling. When working with children, I value collaboration with parents and caregivers and recognize the importance of understanding the child within the context of their family and relationships.

I am particularly interested in helping families navigate attachment concerns, relational difficulties, family-system dynamics, and the effects of trauma within the family system. Rather than focusing solely on one family member as the source of a problem, I value exploring patterns of interaction, connection, communication, and attachment that may influence the entire family.

Another area of professional interest is working with athletes and other high-performing individuals, particularly those navigating major career and identity transitions. My background as a professional dancer provides me with a personal understanding of the discipline, pressure, physical demands, and strong sense of identity that can accompany a performance-based career. I am especially interested in supporting professional athletes as they transition away from competitive sports and begin defining who they are and what they want their lives to look like beyond their athletic careers.

My counseling approach is relational, collaborative, strengths-based, and trauma-informed. I believe meaningful change is often rooted in relationships and begins when clients feel genuinely heard, understood, and accepted. I strive to create a therapeutic environment that is warm, authentic, and compassionate while helping clients recognize their strengths, better understand themselves and their relationships, and develop healthier patterns that support meaningful and lasting change.

• Relationships and Attachment
• Couples, Marriage, and Premarital
• Divorce and Separation
• Career and Work Concerns
• Parenting & Co-Parenting
• Postpartum, Pregnancy and Motherhood
• Major Life Changes
• Identity, Purpose, and Personal Growth
• Stress, Burnout, and Overwhelm
• Confidence, Self-Worth, and Personal Growth