Facing my own unproductive and painful fear-based patterns, with growing compassion for the core wounds beneath, was a commitment I made to myself 30 years ago and it has become a great passion of mine, as has working in support of others as they face their fears and learn to tend healthy and vital relationships. As a part of that commitment to myself, I had the privilege of working for many years, beginning in 1996, in a personal support group wherein we vigorously challenged one another to face our fears and show up authentically. That's when I started supporting others in doing their personal work. I formally began practicing this calling by studying counseling and group facilitation and working as an intern at The Haven Institute in British Columbia, beginning in 2007, and I received my Certificate in Haven Counseling in 2011.
More recently I earned my master's degree in Psychology – Counseling from the LIOS program of Saybrook University and became licensed as a Mental Health Counselor (credential # LH 61010346). Long before that, after receiving my bachelor's degree from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, in 1982, I was an accountant, an ombudsperson, a manager, and most recently a full-time homeschool mom. My personal experience also includes learning how to manage my own ADD and helping my sons learn to manage their challenges: one with learning differences and ADHD, the other with anxiety and depression.
Many difficult but valuable lessons came with my late husband’s illness and passing in 2007, not the least of which came from his modeling of how to fully live every breath of the life he was given. With the support of my friends and family, I learned about loving fully in the face of loss so I would have no regrets. I learned about the challenges and gifts of being a caregiver to a loved one in their last months. I learned to ask for help and rely on the support of others. I learned about the nearly magical power of gratitude to transform my experience. I learned about letting go. I learned to be a sole parent. And, I learned how to get unstuck when I began to get mired in my grief, so that I could move through it. Now, I'm learning about the transition of the emptying nest.
I'm a Pacific Northwest native and in my free time I enjoy connecting with friends, hiking, yoga, warm water scuba diving, singing, carving soapstone, and road trips.
For Credential verification, please follow this link to the WA State DOH website , and select "Mental Health Counselor License - LH" from the "Credential Type " pulldown menu, then enter my name and credential number ( 61010346).
