About Me
I think that in order to choose any practitioner, you need to know more than just what degrees they have. I encourage you to ask them questions such as what motivates them. What has shaped them to be who they are today? What are they passionate about? Only then can you decide if this is the kind of person that you would “click” with. My personal journey and my education are intertwined.
My journey towards healing and wholeness started at a young age. Coming from a typical American dysfunctional family, I got involved with Al-Anon as a young adult. In this group, I learned about co-dependency and the lasting effects of dysfunctional childhood programming. This had such an impact on me that I vowed to help others break these patterns and make a better life for the next generation. As a Social Worker, I developed and facilitated parenting and self-esteem classes for both adults and children. By correlating poor school performance with dysfunction in the home, I received grants that allowed me to offer a variety of programs for children, teens, and adults.
When I was in my late 20’s, I developed a serious illness and became frustrated with the limited treatment options that conventional medicine offered. I began a journey of healing that encompassed the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of my “dis-ease”. At the risk of dating myself, this was in the era before the internet, when the mind-body-spirit connection was not yet well understood.
During this process of healing, I became a vegetarian, eating only organic food and reducing the sugar/processed foods to a minimum. I learned about the importance of the mental and emotional aspects of healing as well. I spent hours allowing myself to feel and release the pain stored within my body. This not only included buried emotional trauma but also all those “tapes” recorded in my brain that dictated my thinking and beliefs about myself. As I delved into the spiritual aspect of my healing, I learned about the energetic body through Reiki, Healing Touch, yoga, and meditation.
After I was healed from my illness, I became even more fascinated with the mind, body, spirit connection. My training as a Social Worker gave me the skills to delve into the emotional/mental connection to illness. My upbringing in a religious family provided me with the yearning to explore the Spiritual side of this manifestation. I then went back to school to become a Nurse so that I could better understand the physical workings of the human body.
Although I tended to work in conventional medical settings, I continued my training in alternative therapies. I received advanced training in Reflexology and Herbal Medicine. I also became very involved in “Non-Violent Communication” which promotes compassion and empathy for each other. More importantly, it taught me how to listen. I then started a private practice which encompassed all of the therapies and techniques that I had learned over the years.
After seeing so many of my clients frustrated with the medical system, I took the next step and became a Family Nurse Practitioner. My goal is to coordinate care so that conventional medicine and alternative therapies can truly work together.
My journey toward wholeness also encompasses a love of travel and of dance. I believe joy and happiness are best expressed through movement of the body. My partner, (a professional dancer), has taught me all forms of dance and I am happy to share this with my patients. Dancing allows that young, vibrant, happy “you” to resurface. After all, life should also include having some fun!