Hello, friend! I’m so happy you’re here ☺
For those new to the idea of therapy, opening up and sharing pieces of yourself with a stranger can be weird, exciting and maybe a little intimidating. Common thoughts like, “What am I supposed to say?” or “What if they think I’m weird/annoying/bad/crazy?” go through most people’s minds before meeting someone new, especially if that person is a therapist. In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions I hear about therapy is the expectation to go in and tell some deep, juicy secret to a person you’ve never met while they write and nod, filling the empty spaces with “Mmhmm” and “I see”. Then suddenly… BAM! Four sessions later, all problems have disappeared and you are on your merry way.
As wonderful and convenient as this would be, sharing parts of your true, authentic self requires much more than a few weeks with a couch, a legal pad and a person with letters behind their name. It requires both client and therapist to be a little vulnerable in order to begin developing a strong foundation of mutual respect and trust – a necessity when building a secure, nurturing and overall safe relationship where you know you are valued and cared for. So, in the spirit of new relationship vulnerability, I’d love to open the door and share a bit of my story with you and invite you to share your story with me!
Originally hailing from Oklahoma City, OK, my understanding of empathy and desire to help others began at a very young age. Around 4 I began offering grumpy looking strangers unsolicited care in the form of band-aids (they fix everything, right?) and very lively and public renditions of my own “feel better” songs, which so happened to be “Love Shack” by the B-52s and “Free Your Mind” by En Vogue. Though likely mortifying to my parents, they could see that I recognized emotions and wanted the world to be a better place.
As I got older, my care and concern for others continued to grow and I became fascinated with family dynamics and children in general. When I wasn’t busy with field hockey, track or choir, I was working as an after-school care provider, tutor, swim teacher and babysitter. This continued when I moved to Fort Worth, TX to attend Texas Christian University. While originally there for vocal music, I went between four (!) different majors before deciding that developmental psychology and child development was my passion and potential career path.
After graduating from college I backpacked through S.E. Asia for four months, using money saved from many, many hours babysitting, before finally moving to Austin, TX. In the four years I was here I explored different jobs, including behavioral work with children on the autism spectrum, pre-school teaching and full-time nannying for 3 different families. Though I had built a happy and comfortable life in Austin, I still knew that I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone and do something different in order to help the most people. Once I was accepted to Vanderbilt’s Human Developmental Counseling master’s program, I decided to take the chance and move.
While I have had many ups and downs in life (as most of us have), the risk of giving up my life in Austin to become a therapist in Nashville was so heart-wrenching and insanely challenging that it made me question if I had made a mistake. It was through music, yoga, meditation and lots of soul-searching, love and support that I learned how to take a pause, find strength and push beyond what I originally believed I was capable of.
I hope to share this lesson with others who are on their own journeys through the ups and downs of life. I believe that everyone has a voice and a story that is worth being heard, regardless of the number of falls, challenges or setbacks it takes to come out the other side.
Thank you for allowing me to share bits of my story with you, and I look forward to hearing and helping you grow in yours ☺
