What’s getting in the way of your happiness?
Sometimes it is helpful to talk to a professional, to gain perspective or hear a different point of view. With compassion, encouragement and curiosisty, I will help you examine the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that contribute to the current distress in your life, and to offer suggestions on how to make changes.
About Me
I earned my Master’s Degree in Social Work from Portland State University in 1995 and became licensed as a Clinical Social Worker in the State of Oregon in 2000. With more than 40 years of experience in the mental health field, I have worked in a wide variety of agencies, treatment settings, and clinical environments, helping individuals and couples navigate life’s challenges with compassion, insight, and practical support. I continue to participate in ongoing professional education each year to ensure that my skills, knowledge, and therapeutic approaches remain current and effective.
In addition to my professional background, I bring decades of life experience to my work. I have been married for more than 30 years, am the proud parent of three incredible children, and the grateful grandmother of two beautiful grandsons. As a second-generation Oregonian, born and raised in Bend and living in the Rogue Valley since 1986, I value community, connection, and the importance of building meaningful relationships.
I genuinely love the work I do and feel deeply honored to walk alongside clients during difficult seasons of life. My years of professional experience, combined with the perspective that comes from living through many stages of life myself, allow me to connect with clients in a grounded, authentic, and compassionate way. Whether someone is struggling with mental health concerns, relationship difficulties, grief, stress, or major life transitions, my goal is to provide a safe and supportive space where healing, growth, and meaningful change can occur.
Services I Provide
I have extensive experience working with a wide range of mental health concerns and life challenges across many stages of adulthood and relationships. My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and grounded in both professional expertise and decades of real-life experience. I strive to create a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where clients feel safe, respected, and understood.
I am LGBTQ+ affirming and neurodivergent-friendly, and I welcome clients of all identities, backgrounds, relationship structures, and lived experiences. I have experience working with individuals navigating ADHD, autism spectrum differences, sensory sensitivities, identity exploration, masking, burnout, and the unique challenges that can arise when feeling misunderstood or unsupported by traditional systems.
Some of the areas I commonly help clients with include:
Anxiety and chronic stress
Depression and mood-related concerns
Trauma and PTSD
Relationship and communication difficulties
Grief and loss
Life transitions and adjustment issues
Work stress and burnout
Chronic illness and caregiver stress
Self-esteem and identity concerns
Emotional regulation difficulties
Couples and family conflict
Boundaries and codependency
Neurodivergence-related challenges
LGBTQ+ related support and affirming care
My therapeutic style is warm, relational, and tailored to the individual needs of each client. I believe therapy works best when clients feel genuinely seen, heard, and respected.
Some of the approaches and modalities I incorporate into my work include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Relational Therapy
Attachment-Based Approaches
Strengths-Based Therapy
Psychoeducation and Skills Building
Person-Centered Therapy
Fees and Insurance
At this time, I provide services exclusively through secure, HIPAA-compliant teletherapy, allowing clients throughout Oregon to access therapy from the comfort and privacy of their own homes.
My fee is $100 for a 60-minute session or $150 for a 90-minute session.
INSURANCE BILLING
After careful consideration, I made the decision to discontinue participation in insurance contracts effective September 1, 2017.
It is very important to me that the way I conduct my practice remains consistent with my personal values, professional ethics, and the standards established by my licensing board and the National Association of Social Workers.
Over the years, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the limitations that insurance companies often place on mental health treatment. Like many medical and mental health professionals, I found myself faced with a difficult choice: either assign diagnoses and medical necessity labels in ways that did not always fully reflect a client’s situation, or turn away individuals and couples seeking support for concerns that insurance companies simply do not cover. I believe therapy should focus on helping people heal, grow, and improve their quality of life — not on fitting human experiences into narrowly defined insurance categories.
Many people are unaware of how insurance coverage can affect their privacy, treatment options, and therapeutic experience. Some important considerations include:
Insurance coverage is never guaranteed. Most clients are still responsible for deductibles, co-pays, or other out-of-pocket expenses.
In order for therapy to be covered, a mental health diagnosis must typically be submitted to the insurance company and documented as “medically necessary.” This information becomes part of your permanent medical record.
Most insurance companies do not cover couples counseling, relationship concerns, personal growth work, or many life-transition issues unless they meet strict medical necessity criteria.
Insurance companies may limit the type, frequency, duration, or length of therapy sessions and can require treatment plans or ongoing authorization for continued care.
Insurance companies also reserve the right to audit clinical records for years after treatment has ended to determine whether they believe services were medically necessary.
Choosing private-pay therapy offers a different level of flexibility, privacy, and autonomy. When clients pay out-of-pocket:
You and your therapist decide the length, frequency, and duration of sessions based on your individual needs — not insurance limitations.
You have greater privacy and control over your personal information and mental health records.
Therapy can focus more fully on personal growth, relationships, life transitions, emotional wellness, and healing — not just symptom reduction or diagnosis.
More time can be devoted to the actual therapeutic process rather than insurance authorizations, paperwork, and administrative requirements.
My goal is to provide thoughtful, ethical, individualized care in a way that prioritizes the therapeutic relationship, client autonomy, and meaningful long-term growth.
My Video Course
Couples Communication 101
If I could hand people one thing to improve the communication in their relationships, it would be this course. This is a condensed version of all of the skills I’ve taught clients over the course of the last 30+ years.