About My Therapeutic Philosophy
Everyone has a purpose and path to follow.
I have always believed that healing takes a mind-body-spirit approach, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to implement this for myself or my clients, as I grew up Catholic, and that was my only frame of reference.
As a highly spiritual person, I always wanted to do good in the world for humans, animals, and the earth. I believe in ONE God, Creator, Universe, Great Spirit, or however you identify “THE ONE.”
I believe that no religion constructed by humans has all the answers or is the one that offers “true salvation.” I believe God created us all and loves us tremendously. We all have a purpose on this earth and a path to find it.
No path is free from challenges.
My personal experience is that although we wish we didn’t have to experience pain and adversity, these experiences guide us to our purpose. It starts with healing ourselves and is the catalyst to finding our real strength, meaning, and purpose in our lives.
It is not an easy journey, but at the same time, a life of suffering is not our calling. We truly can transform our pain into purpose. That purpose may be to show kindness and love to others and function at the highest level possible in our lives.
Heal Thyself first
I realized I had to heal myself before I could genuinely help others. For over 24 years, I have honed my skills and gained an education and experience in using the same modalities to heal myself that I give to my clients. I know both personally and professionally that it is possible.
Walking beside my clients on their healing journey makes me feel incredibly honored. It is sacred that my clients trust me enough to share things they cannot share with most people they encounter.
I have been through many years of “talk therapy” myself since about 18 years, and it wasn’t until I was trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 2010 that I realized the old experiences and memories were still triggering me. I worked through it in EMDR and saw extraordinary changes in how I felt and could talk about the past without any emotional charge.
Things that used to trigger me no longer did, as my nervous system released those experiences. I have also seen this daily with my clients, and it has breathed new life into my practice.
About Me
Things changed after the pandemic.
Life involves many transitions, and more recent experiences led me to a new level of learning that has enhanced how I help others.
Following the pandemic, the isolation and getting caught up in the day-to-day stress of our world drove me to feel completely disconnected from God, myself, and all living things. As a result, I sought and felt called to move a step beyond my training. Therefore, I became a Reiki Master and a certified Shamanic Energy Medicine Practitioner, as I discovered how to heal my energy field from the imprints of past experiences and any other negative energy.
I learned that the energy field informs the chakras (the body’s energy centers), and the chakras inform our physical, mental, and emotional health. Today, I feel whole, grateful, and connected, and continuing with this work has brought me a new understanding of how to help my clients.
Finally, I have discovered the importance of healing the Mind, Body, and Spirit; and I want to share this with as many people as possible.
Here’s a summary of my training.
I am incredibly fortunate to have been able to attend North Carolina State University for my B.A. in Psychology and M.S. in Rehabilitation Psychology and Counseling graduate from The University of N.C. at Chapel Hill.
I completed my training and internships at the Duke Center for Wellness and the Center for Integrative Medicine. I also completed some of my training at UNC Hospice.
The training from these great institutions greatly benefited me, and I am grateful for all the fantastic learning opportunities. I made the rounds, and some may call me a traitor, but I am, first and foremost, a Tarheel!