I was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. I left Raleigh in 1991 to attend Washington University in St. Louis. In college, my studies focused on the arts and literature. I was drawn to understanding the characters of the many novels I was asked to deconstruct and began to observe and take note of the motives that drive human beings in their lives.
I graduated in 1995 with a degree in French. After graduation I moved to Brooklyn, New York and enrolled in a dance/movement therapy course at New York University. It was at this time that I discovered my passion for working with others and began to recognize that there are so many ways in which a human being may express him/herself emotionally. Intrigued with the creativity of expressing our personal stories and finding meaning and healing in them, I decided to combine my love of story with my desire to help others.
In June of 1997, I began my social work studies at Smith College School for Social Work in Northampton, Massachusetts. At Smith, I found myself drawn to working with adolescents and their families. I also became interested in psychosocial issues arising from chronic illness as well as the interconnection between body and mind. These two interests continue to be a focal point in my learning and psychotherapy practice today.
I graduated from Smith in August of 1999 with a Master's degree in Social Work. I have worked in a variety of settings since that time which have included an outdoor residential treatment facility for adolescent boys, the Sexual Abuse Treatment Program of Wake County, and Counseling and Wellness Services of UNC, Chapel Hill. I work as a consultant, co-facilitating experiential leadership trainings for teenagers and their parents and have done so since 2003. I have been in private practice since November of 2001.
Currently, I live in Durham, North Carolina with my husband and 2 sons. In addition to being in private practice, I also write a psychotherapy blog. Read more about my perspective at
www.shesaidthis.net.