I grew up in the UK with a passion for playfulness and creativity, and eventually earned a BA in Drama. I spent my twenties and early thirties traveling and working in Europe, Japan, Mexico, and a few different places in the US. Throughout this time I used drama as a tool for development in education, the arts, and the mental health field.
Then I stopped off in Florida for a few months while arranging the travel paperwork for an amazing little street dog I had adopted in Mexico*, but a few months turned into a few years and I’ve been here ever since.
I had always planned to go back to school in order to learn more about the science of human behavior, and so in 2011 I started at Nova Southeastern University, where I earned a Masters and then a PhD in Family Therapy. Along the way I became licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and opened my private practice.
MY APPROACH
During my doctoral studies I became interested in Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST), which you can read about here. My efforts to apply the concepts from BFST in my own life have been personally transformative, and the theory has made my clinical work endlessly fascinating to me. I have studied in the Bowen Theory South Florida training program for three years, and I have presented on BFST nationally and internationally.
My doctoral research was on humor and playfulness in the therapeutic process. I believe that the capacity to be playful and laugh at ourselves has great value in the effort to gain perspective, open up to new ideas, and get more thoughtful about our lives—so it is not unusual to find me and my clients laughing during sessions. If you want a super serious therapist, I’m probably not the right fit for you! In addition to traditional “talk therapy” I also offer art therapy, which can open up amazing conversations and new ways of understanding our lives.
ALSO…
In addition to being a therapist I am an Aikido instructor, and I run true storytelling events. I have been married for 18+ years, and we have a baby daughter.
*If you want to hear the story I’ll gladly tell it!
Memberships
American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy
United States Aikido Federation