I am fortunate to have a varied range of experience working in the field of mental health. I have worked with children, adolescents, families and adults. My clinical foundation was working with youth and adults experiencing severe emotional disturbance and severe and persistent mental illness. This allowed me to fine tune my skills in conflict resolution, crisis intervention and short term individual/family therapy for immediate stabilization. Before working in private practice and running Coastline Therapy Group I was employed with county mental health and community based organizations. In my private practice I have been able to fulfill my passion working with complex PTSD, trauma survivors and children of impaired family systems. My personal experience combined with over 14 years of working with individuals suffering from invalidating and toxic family systems and abusive relationships has provided me with a unique skill in teasing out where the problem really lies.

I believe we can live a life that is free from the negative behavioral responses that come from our impaired family of origin. So much of what many struggle with today is a product of the shaming, projecting, and labeling of our impaired caretakers. Our impaired family system norms will show up for us in all aspects of our lives causing us to feel like we are the crazy ones. My goal is to support each person I work with to better understand what happened to them and develop skills to live a better life.

In my personal time I enjoy taking advantage of all the great outdoor opportunities that come with living in Santa Barbara. My family and I are adventuring every weekend (after hopefully sleeping in) and sunshine and summer nights make me happy. Outside of my family, my biggest personal passion is riding horses.