top of page
Bio from Philmont.JPG
IMG_8080.jpg

I am glad you are here. 
My goal is to remove the stigma around going to therapy. Consider me a walking partner on this gnarly trail called life. As a Licensed Professional Therapist and School Counselor, I want to help people find hope. I have been called a Hope Dealer and I am cool with that. My style is fun, direct and focused on your here, now and your incredible future. As the famous Chinese proverb states, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is now."

IMG_8097.jpg

1. Let's start with an email or text. Please tell me why you are wanting to pursue therapy for yourself or someone else. 
2. Complete and return informed consent form
3. Complete and return intake form -- choose your preferred format: Google form or PDF form.  
4. Schedule first appointment. You can schedule appointments by texting me or by going to my live calendar at Your Wellness Connection. 

 

Your Wellness Connection QR code.jpg
IMG_8107.jpg

  • I like to work with anyone open to changing their life for the better and who is ready to do the work.

  • Here is my Psychology Today profile. 

  • My therapy office is at Your Wellness Connection at 75th and I-35 in Shawnee, KS. I also love meeting in nontraditional locations and outdoors if that is your jam. 

  • I am a Licensed Professional Therapist on evenings and weekends and an urban core School Counselor by day. 

  • I am a non-institutional, mystic type of Catholic/Christian; I am happy to weave spiritually into therapy or leave it alone!   

  • I do not accept insurance but happy to provide documentation and receipts for insurance/Health Savings Accounts submittals.

  • 50-minute therapy appointments: $140, 30-minute appointments are $70

  • Current payment method: cash, checks, Venmo or PayPal

As a mother of three teenagers, the kitchen table is a sacred place. It is a place for family dinners, homework and late-night conversations. And if some of our conversations aren't juicy and/or hard as parents, we need to try harder. Here a few of my favorite resources for teens and frankly, for most of us adults...who are still finding our way!

​

Journal & Conversation Starters

In a world full of technology, we have never been lonelier as a culture. Conversations are not always a cure-all solution, but they are free. 

  • 135 Journal prompts -- these prompts can easily become conversation starters around the kitchen table. 

  • Table Topics - I love these boxes of questions for almost every occasion. These are perfect for the kitchen table, road trips or journaling.  

​

Counseling Theories 

I like to give my clients a 360-degree view of some of my favorite counseling theories. These posts were all written by me and give you a good sense for my therapeutic style. 

  • Choice, Freedom & Responsibility -- these are three of my favorite words. Yes, you were warned. This post links to some good easy-to-read information on three of my favorite counseling theories: Reality Theory, Choice Therapy and Logotherapy. 

  • Distorted thinking -- these are some proven strategies for distorted thinking. Most of us are born very capable of distorted thinking but this post gives you some very tangible examples of how one might identify distorted thinking when it happens. 

  • Life's Lab of Experimentation -- I love thinking about our lives as labs. I love the idea of creating experiments. If something isn't working, we must try something new. If something isn't feeling right, it probably isn't right. Experimentation helps us to prove ourselves right or wrong. 

  • Mountains in our mind - there is a good chance we can't control everything that we perceive to be big and insurmountable challenges in our lives...but we can think creatively and courageously on how we might maneuver these mountainous challenges in our mind. 

  • Agency -- yes, back to some of my favorite, albeit annoying concepts -- the freedom, choice and responsibility we have. 

  • Therapy in a Nutshell - I love this You Tube Channel. It is a fun an exhausting list of many of the mental health challenges the world is facing and some great pragmatic solutions.

  • Quieting the voices in our head -- here are some proven strategies to "change the tape" that plays in our heads. 

  • Readiness for change - here are some thought/journal prompts for being ready for change. 

  • ​

Strength-based living 

We were all born with some incredible strengths but in the darker moments of our lives, we can forget what we do better than most people. 

  • Personality Assessment -- This is a fun free personality assessment based on Meyers Briggs profiles, but it is a free version. The assessment is super visual and is fun to read aloud in groups. 

  • Strong Interest Assessment - Created by Donald Super, one of the leading theorists on lifetime career development.  It doesn't matter your age, interests can change! The average person has between 12-20 jobs over a lifetime. The assessment is $40 but is a great conversation starter at all ages. If we can't find jobs that feel like our vocation, understanding our interests can help us spend time outside of work more intentionally. 

  • Self-Directed Search (SDS) - Created by John Holland, another leading theorist in helping people find work that aligns with their personality styles. His hypothesis is that if we find work that closely aligns with our personality types, we will be happier. The six basic personality types are: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. This is $14.95. 

  • Strengths Finder 2.0 - this is a book ($19) that comes with a code that allows you to take a strengths finder assessment. I really love this quick exercise that will help you identify your top five strengths that can guide career & life development.

 

bottom of page