I support the healing of family relationships. Kids acquire a real sense of pride and self-esteem. The emotional part of having a learning disability or ADHD is addressed so that children understand their emotions, feel validated, and can move forward in their relationships. Parents are able to understand their child’s brain and behavior and are taught solid strategies to support their child’s learning and emotional health.

In a recent interview, I talked about my passion for my work: “When I work with families, I am consciously aware of my therapeutic relationship with parent and child. This relationship is very important, so I put a great deal of energy into building it from the first contact with the family. Both child and parent need to be on board, willing to work with me in a balanced give/take relationship. Once we know each other well and expectations are clear, things really take off.”

I am both a clinical psychologist and school psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with children and families. I received my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Seattle in December 2011, with a concentration on Child Psychology and Neuropsychology. My dissertation focused on executive functioning, multisensory structured language instruction, and dyslexia. I have been in private practice since 2005.

I was first a teacher, earning a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. I was an early childhood educator for over 10 years and earned a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Columbia University Teachers College. After noticing that every school year, roughly 10% of my students met some sort of developmental difficulty, I decided to pursue a graduate diploma in School Psychology so that I could assess and treat learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, and developmental delays. I moved to Seattle in 2001 to begin a Masters-inclusive doctoral training program at the University of Washington. This is where I found my passion: helping teachers become more effective teachers, and helping children learn in an easier way that capitalized on their strengths.

En route to my doctorate, I earned a Masters in Education (M.Ed.) in Educational Psychology and became a school psychologist, serving a variety of students and families, such as in early intervention (birth-to-three) programs, intensive support classrooms, learning support, and programs for emotionally and behaviorally disordered students. During my time at the University of Washington, I realized that I did not want to pursue a research degree. Rather, my passion was in working directly with children and families. A clinical program seemed a better fit, and I transferred to Antioch University Seattle’s clinical psychology doctoral program.

Throughout my career, I have worked as a School Psychologist, a consulting psychologist for an academic tutoring agency, a psychometrist at Children’s Hospital, and a research assistant at the University of Washington Parenting Clinic. I have taught graduate students in Teacher Education at the University of Washington and doctoral candidates in the Clinical Psychology program at Antioch University Seattle.

I use a team approach to therapy. I work with the family and train parents (or another caregiver) as “coaches.” I am usually present during the therapy session, learning to do what I am doing, and support practice at home. The expectation is that the I do the same outside of the therapy hour, actively supporting the child throughout the rest of their week. This applies to home life, social life, and school. When parents are actively involved, positive outcomes increase exponentially. An added benefit is that parents often find out a lot about themselves during this process.