About

I didn’t always want to be a therapist. 

I went to school for Spanish and French thinking I would… I don’t know. Work at the UN? I didn’t have a clear vision. I was able to find work but it wasn’t super satisfying work. 

After staying home with kids for a few years (shout out to anyone else who’s put in the time in those trenches!) I was searching and deliberating and a friend said, off-handedly, “You should be a therapist.” And I said “no one would want to listen to anything I had to say!” Which is hilariously misguided about what therapy really is AND hilariously revealing about my self-concept at the time.

I do, in fact, yes. I have a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Mercer University, I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia (LPC 011362) and I’m Level 3 Certified in TEAM-CBT by the Feeling Good Institute. I’m also a Nationally Certified Counselor.

A lot of the promotion of therapy depends either too much on qualifications (I have this degree! I did this training!) or too much on lived experience (I’m just like you! You can trust me!) In my experience, it’s really the combination of the two that you need for effective therapy.

I’m focused on the problems you’re facing, and I have specific, well-honed skills to apply.

I’m married and have 3 kids. We also have 2 cats and sitting on the couch, doing the Wordle with a cat on my lap is one of the best ways to have my morning coffee.

Some of my favorite shows in the past couple of years have been Somebody Somewhere and Long Story Short. I’m also catching up on old seasons of Taskmaster and the Great British Bake Off.

My own perfectionism is mainly in the "can't start" category.

I'm very familiar with feeling overwhelmed, and when a project feels too big, or a goal feels too far off, I struggle to move forward. When I feel that way, I have to remind myself to take it one step at a time.

For misguided reasons, I was a language major in college and in that process, I learned the saying: "Petit a petit, l'oiseau fait son nid."

Little by little (bit by bit), the bird builds its nest.

Bit by bit.

Break it down.

What's the very next, very tiniest step?

When I focus on that very next, very tiniest step, I can usually get myself to start.

Bonus: birds' nests are breathtaking when you think about it. The ability to weave without the advantage of opposable thumbs is mind-blowing!

Great question! I would love to tell you.

What I didn’t know when I first considered becoming a therapist, and didn’t even learn in grad school, is that my primary role as a therapist does involve a lot of heart, but it’s much more about having skills than it is about advising or directing anyone. 

In my first year as a therapist, after I’d graduated but before I’d earned my license, I started searching for an approach to treatment that resonated with me. I knew I had friends who’d found techniques to study and I wanted the solidity and direction that offered. 

Luckily, I stumbled across a blog post that changed my life. I’d been talking to a colleague about a workshop we were planning together and she mentioned a tool we could use, called the Downward Arrow. I nodded enthusiastically, pretending I knew what she was talking about, then furiously googled after she left. That led me to feelinggood.com, the home base for TEAM-CBT, a practice developed by Dr. David Burns.

I think the blog post that had me hooked was one listed in the sidebar of the one about the Downward Arrow. It was called “The Ten Worst Errors Therapists Make–and How to Avoid Them.” For someone who already thought very little of her skills and expertise, this was catnip. 

In this circumstance, my self-directed skepticism was warranted! Grad school hadn’t offered clear, repeatable tools and pathways to use to help my clients. They’d come to my office and I’d say, “wow, that sounds very painful,” or something along those lines, and not have much to offer beyond that. I didn’t even have a vision of a destination, let alone the turn-by-turn directions to get there. 

These days, I have a powerful vision of what is possible and my clients set our destination. Then I try to lay out, as clearly as I can, what we can accomplish and stay out of the decision about whether or not to keep going there. 

Wow, that is very specific! I’m impressed. And yes, yes I do.

I inhale this cucumber salad whenever it’s in my house and I genuinely said the words “I like this better than Doritos” out loud and meant it. I feel like that’s a solid endorsement.