Selected as "2017 South Haven Best Family Therapist" with over 55 five-star reviews,  I have 30+ years experience in helping people mend broken hearts and wounded spirits to find inner peace and regain self-confidence.  As my client, you will find healing and practical life solutions, resulting in changes for recovery and positive self-care while you regain control of your life and happiness.

We work as a team using talk therapy, healing techniques, and coping skills to help you reach your life’s fullest potential. In finding your emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual well-being through autonomy and choice, you will create a healthier, happier you, affecting  all aspects of your life.

As the script-writer, director, and producer of your life, you set the agenda for counseling sessions and therapeutic goals.  You already have the resources necessary to sort through the important issues, and I, as a trusted guide, assist you in the process of  making your life be what you want.  We work together to remove obstacles to your highest well-being and happiness and to develop your skills to be an autonomous individual.  If you do the work of therapy and change the internal narrative, your life will never be the same!

ABOUT

In private practice in South Haven, Michigan, since 2011, I have more than 30 years in administrative and clinical experience as a social worker/psychotherapist, fully licensed in Michigan and North Carolina, specializing in individual, family, and marriage therapy.  My training ground has been in non-profit, community and hospital-based mental health programs offering both group and individual therapy.  In addition, I have directed a hospital-based Employee Assistance Program and supervised student interns. Also, I am a trained mediator, crisis debriefer (CISM,) and Jungian dream analyst.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

I was graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with a double major:   B.A. in Philosophy and B.A. with Honors in English.  I obtained a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from the University of South Carolina, preceded by a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  In Michigan, I am a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and in North Carolina, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).  I maintain clinical integrity and therapeutic skills by attending multiple mental health workshops annually.  I hold a current license and have been a member of the National Association of Social Workers since 1996.

SPECIALTIES

 It is a privilege and an honor to work with those hurting and needing help to heal their wounds.  A therapist must maintain integrity and confidentiality in developing a counseling relationship based on trust and honesty, as well as ethical boundaries.  Once a therapeutic bond is established, counseling work proceeds with you directing the pace and outcome of the counseling sessions.  The following special areas have been the most beneficial in working with my clients:

MARRIAGE
FAMILY
iNDIVIDUAL
RELATIONSHIPS
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
SEXUAL ABUSE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
GRIEF
DEPRESSION
aNXIETY
ANGER MANAGEMENT
COPING SKILLS
TRAUMA
PARENTING
NARCISSISM

As an individual, family, and marriage therapist, I work in both individual and group formats with children over 5 years old, teens, and adults.

I hold relationship support and grief support groups, which are open to the pubic, on a monthly basis.  These are informal, group-led discussions that provide an opportunity to meet people experiencing similar situations and to gain insight in a venue safe to express emotions, where confidentiality is honored.

In addition, I lead a closed Sexual Assault Overcomers group on a weekly basis.  Admission to the group must include an interview with me, and the material is Christian-based.

Therapeutic Approach

People who seek my help are my clients, not my patients.  My primary goal is to teach principles by which the client ultimately has the tools to meet life’s challenges – promoting autonomy, responsibility for the choices one makes, and accountability for the consequences of those choices.  I use the concept of Parent/Adult/Child to convey you are the script-writer, director and producer of your own life.  If you are not happy with your life, that is a signal that something is not right, and a correction is necessary to restore a healthy balance on all four planes:  mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual.

We will work together to remove any blocks to reaching your potential, along with developing coping skills to be autonomous in life.  In activating the process of personal growth and transformation, you will learn to interpret daily events as effective methods for completing unfinished inner work.  My professional experience and intuitive expertise allow for a balanced model promoting positive change and healing.

We will make space for abundance and joy by examining the origins of your problems and releasing old fears.  I will help you remove obstacles to your happiness by learning to feel and to heal the psychological and emotional issues. You will be given suggestions for reading materials, exercises, and techniques tailored specifically for you and your situation to enjoy your daily life to the fullest.

I have worked successfully with thousands of clients using a variety of methods to promote recovery and healing.  I have taught numerous classes and groups on intimacy, relationships, substance abuse, communication, sexual abuse, grief, parenting, personal empowerment, shame, Dialectical Behavioral Training (DBT) and crisis debriefing.  I feel confident you will know when your work is complete and when it is time to stop therapy.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality and integrity within ethical boundaries are essential components of a healthy therapeutic relationship.  However, under threat of harm to oneself or to another, or disclosure of child abuse/neglect, I will break confidentiality in accordance with Michigan or North Carolina law.  I do not have to have proof of abuse - suspicion alone is enough to require a report to Adult/Child Protective Services.  In addition, I may not disclose whether an individual is or is not a client or release any information without a signed Consent for Release of Information form.