I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I earned my Masters Degree from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in 2005. I have worked with children as young as 3-yrs-old to young adulthood. I started my career in outpatient residential settings and transitional living housing. My focus was on helping parents and their children heal from trauma. I went through rigorous training in Brief Strategic Family Therapy and was mentored in Trauma-Informed Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy. I also studied DIR/Floortime and adapted this model to work with neurodivergent children who had a history of trauma.

I took time off to raise my three children. It was during this time that I realized that I am also neurodivergent (AuDHD). Raising children as a neurodivergent person was hard and I needed more support than I could find at the time. That is why I returned to work. I know what it’s like when you are feeling burned out and when you are trying so hard to be the parent your children need. I also know what it’s like to engage in systems that are not designed for neurodivergent brains. It’s easy to feel broken and inferior. The neurodiversity affirming movement was transformative for my family and for myself. I’ve learned strategies for supporting executive functioning, mitigating burn out and supporting self-acceptance. The current training and certifications that I am taking are ones that I find useful for my family and what I find are the most effective ways for supporting my clients.

Certifications and training that I am specializing in are informed by my understanding of how to work with individuals and families who have more vulnerable nervous systems. I address behavioral and emotional outbursts as stress responses and help individuals learn strategies for coping with stress and emotional overwhelm.

Certifications and Trainings

• AutPlay®

• Collaborative Proactive Solutions

• Synergetic Play Therapy

• International Association of Sandtray Therapy

• Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment

• Mindfulness-based mentoring

• Polyvagal theory

• Neurodiversity affirming care, including Autism Level Up and courses for supporting interoception differences.

In addition, I collaborate with Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists who focus on Gestalt Language Processing and provide neurodivergent affirming care.