About
A Bit About Me
I’m originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, and I’ve worked in the mental health field since 1999. Over the years, I’ve worked in group homes, foster care and adoption, family and couples therapy, and individual therapy. I moved to the beautiful mountains of Asheville in 2013, where I live with my hubby and school-aged kiddo.
I bring more than 25 years of professional experience to my work, along with warmth, curiosity, honesty, and plenty of humor. I’m also probably the biggest Michael Jackson, Rocky, RuPaul, and Golden Girls fan you’ll ever meet—so be prepared.
What Therapy with Me Is Like
I’m warm, open-minded, and nonjudgmental, and I use humor often in my sessions. Therapy with me doesn’t have to feel stiff or overly formal. You don’t need to say the “right” things, have everything figured out, or know exactly where to begin.
My approach is compassionate, direct, and sometimes a little sassy. I’ll listen carefully and take your experiences seriously. I may also ask questions that make you pause, notice patterns you haven’t recognized before, or invite you to look at something through a different lens. I don’t believe that being supportive requires me to agree with everything you say.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. Together, we’ll get curious about what’s happening beneath the surface and figure out what works for you, your life, and your goals.
My Own Messy Middle
For a long time, my body was my favorite project. There was always something to work on: a new eating plan, supplement, exercise routine, or another attempt to finally get things “right.” I thought I was preoccupied with food because food was the problem. Looking back, I’m not sure it was that simple.
During an intake session with two health coaches, they asked what I would focus on when food and my body were no longer such a big concern. I remember panicking because I honestly didn’t know. Focusing on food, my body, and the next project had taken up so much of my time and attention. The idea of no longer having those things to fix was unsettling.
That question helped me begin looking beneath the behavior. Food gave me something to focus on. My body gave me something to fix. Rules gave me the reassuring feeling that at least one part of my life was under control.
As a woman of color, I also struggled to find resources that reflected my experience. So many of the resources I found made it seem as though eating disorders and body image concerns were “only for white girls.” Finding honest, nonjudgmental support became an important part of my own healing.
These experiences shape the way I approach this work, although I don’t assume your story is the same as mine. I understand that a behavior can cause real problems while also doing something important for us. Therapy gives us room to explore both.
You’re Never “Too Much” Here
Maybe you’ve been told that you’re too emotional, too sensitive, too complicated, or simply too much. You may have learned to hold parts of yourself back, downplay what you’re struggling with, or worry that being honest will make someone see you differently.
You don’t have to edit yourself here. I want to understand the full context of your experience, including the parts that may feel messy, contradictory, or difficult to explain.
Whether you’re navigating an eating disorder, intense emotions, questions about identity, or patterns you don’t fully understand yet, your story matters. You deserve support that recognizes all of who you are—not just a diagnosis or behavior.
More Than One Thing Can Be True
I believe more than one thing can be true at the same time. A behavior can cause real problems and also be trying to protect you. You can genuinely want to change and feel afraid to let go of what’s familiar. You can need compassion and accountability at the same time.
This is especially important in my work with food, eating, and body image. I’m not interested in replacing one rigid set of rules with another. We can talk honestly about health, eating disorders, body image, diet culture, and anti-diet culture without pretending that the answers are always simple.
Changing a behavior is about more than eliminating it or counting how many days you’ve gone without it. A streak may tell us how long the behavior hasn’t happened; it doesn’t tell us what will happen when the urge returns.
We’ll also explore what the behavior has been doing for you, what makes the urge stronger, and what you may need in that moment instead. That’s where practical skills, curiosity, and the Messy Middle come in.
My training
My training includes Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, trauma-informed therapy, and Intuitive Eating. I draw from these approaches based on your needs rather than expecting one method to work for everyone.
Ready to go beneath the surface?
Many people come to therapy feeling stuck in cycles of self-criticism, emotional overwhelm, and food struggles. Together, we’ll focus on what’s underneath and build kinder, more sustainable ways to respond.
