I started teaching in a counseling program because I heard so many stories from clients of woefully inadequate therapy they had received in the past.  It boggled my mind to realize how many counselors existed who would only scratch the surface of a person’s pain, then retreat to strategies and interventions designed to band-aid the problem and provide solutions that looked good but didn’t last.  I decided that I could do more good by facilitating the development of master therapists who would go on to impact infinitely more lives than I could alone.

In six years of teaching, I have come to realize the key to that goal: we must be willing to dive in to the painful self examination of our own wounds before we seek to sit with the pain of others.  In that time frame, life has brought a collection of traumas but also an abundance of fellow travelers, as well as knowledge that has served to shape and mold me into a very different person than I was when I closed my private practice back in 2008 to start a PhD program.  Even the world around me has opened up to this idea of vulnerability with researchers like Brene Brown carrying the message to the masses.

Three years ago, I began to consider the idea of going back into practice – the focus being on providing intensive therapy retreats for women.  Over time though, it became obvious that the calling was broader – to provide that rare sacred space where men and women can completely deconstruct and build a self/life which reflects who they were truly created to be!  The cool thing is that returning to this work will benefit my students as I lead from a place of current experience.

I want to offer hope.  I want to challenge people to risk vulnerability with someone who has been there.  I know there are individuals out there who are tired of living at the surface.  They have a desire to dig deeper and they are willing to invest the time and resources in the journey.  I’m here and ready to take that beautiful risk with them.