I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida. I have over 24 years of work experience in the mental health field. My treatment approaches include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Play therapy techniques, and Psychoeducation. Motivational Interviewing, DBT, and Solution Focused clinical techniques. I am passionate about helping my clients feel better emotionally and make wiser choices to help them get their lives back on track to achieve better emotional and behavioral well-being.

I became a mental health professional because I wanted to provide encouragement and support for individuals who were experiencing a personal struggle in life and needed a non-biased person to talk to. I wanted to be able to reach individuals who were unaware of resources or lacked the skills needed to help improve their current circumstances despite any obstacles they were facing. I have had some life circumstances that helped me realize I was more resilient than I knew, and I wanted to be able to help others find their inner strength and work toward change to help improve their overall emotional well-being and outlook.

I enjoy traveling and learning about different cultures. I enjoy spending time with my children and dog Leo. I also enjoy watching cooking shows and crime series, Marvel movies, and also Disney and Pixar movies. I also consider myself a life-long learner, so I am always interested in learning something new.

I make sure I take time (at least 15-30 min) each day to reflect, destress, and plan. I feel this is important to maintain self-awareness, body/ health awareness, and emotional well-being.

I have read Boundaries for Your Soul more than once because I supervised a 9-week group and each week we discussed one or more chapters in the book and completed reflection and discussion. I read it again after group as a refresher about the different emotions I experienced and how they related to the boundaries I had or needed to implement.

My favorite organization is the American Cancer Society because I have had family and friends who were diagnosed with cancer, some were able to go through treatments successfully and some were not. I have completed volunteer work and fundraisers to help support cancer research so that more people have the opportunity to receive lifesaving treatments and also education and support.

I like to get massages, visit my chiropractor, and sleep in when I am able. I also make a point to stop working at a certain time each night so that I am able to get adequate sleep.

I have a 5-month-old Golden Doodle named Leo. He is the first dog I have raised from 8 weeks old. Having Leo is like having another kid in the home and watching them go through different life stages, except he is a big shaggy cute puppy who thinks he is bigger than he is when he needs to be protected and playful and curious as a kid when he is just being Leo. My favorite story includes Leo protecting me from the dog in the oven (his reflection) and the little green dog outside a daycare (a fake plant shaped like a dog), the confusion on his face when neither dog did anything was priceless. He cocked his head and looked at me as if he was thinking "What is going on".