I have been working in the mental health field as a clinician for over 20 years. I work with youths,adults, and couples looking for mental health supports for depression, anxiety, anger management, bereavement, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse and other mental health issues. I like to incorporate eclectic interventions  tailored to fit your needs within a research based Cognitive-Behavioral and Structural theoretical framework. Over the next year I will be working in my practice with a Goldendoodle to incorporate Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT).

I earned my Bachelor of Art in Psychology and my Master of Counseling Education from California State University, Sacramento. I hold an active Marriage Family Therapist (MFT) license in Arizona and California and I am qualified to provide supervision to individuals working towards their license in both states. I have a clinical certification in trauma (CCTP) from the International Association of Trauma Professionals (IATP) and I am certified as a child/adolescent parent trainer with Active Parenting. I am trained in psychotherapy and family systems and licensed to diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders within a framework of interpersonal relationships.  I owned and operated my private practice for over 10 years in California, prior to relocating to Arizona. I have mental health experience in hospital, correction, non-profit, and educational settings and was a professor with California State University.

I am concerned with the total health and well-being of the individual and I work to help you improve life stressors, manage past traumas, or cope with other mental health issues which may be effecting your life and relationships in a negative way. My goal is to help each person, through a strength based approach, set specific goals for improving and strengthening interpersonal relationships and their overall mental wellbeing. I do this by giving you skills to live and manage a healthy and well balanced life. The benefits of individual counseling can include achieving identified goals, learning to manage dysregulation, change negative patterns of communication, gaining insight and self-awareness, improve empathy, replace negative behaviors with healthier ones, address past trauma, and increase self-esteem. I encourage a 15 minute phone consultation prior to our meeting so you will have an idea if I will be the right therapist for you; reach out today and schedule a phone call or an appointment my information here.

As a Marriage Family Therapist, practicing under biblical principles, I strongly believe one of the key principals, as identified in the bible (1Corinthians 16:14 Do everything in love) to a successful relationship, is love. We also need a shared understanding in how to communicate open and honestly with our partners through mutual love and kindness.  When we enter into a committed relationship with our those we love, most of us do not expect to question this choice later as we move through difficulties and different developmental milestones. Life can create changes in our relationship that are unexpected and can include trials around raising children, financial stressors, mental health issues, addictions, traumas, challenges in intimacy or other stressors. If we are lacking skills needed to maneuver through these different struggles we can find our ability to navigate around communication, intimacy, connectedness, and support with our partners missing. As we navigate through life, our partners are one of our greatest assets. My hope for each couple, is through our work together, the relationship can be strengthened.

Some of our best memories and experiences come from our children which is why we care so much about our children’s happiness. Childhood can be a fun and inspiration time; it can also be a difficult time mixed with uncertainty, worry, and loneliness. Children and adolescents often have trouble managing the numerous feelings and emotions they experience on a daily basis. Children transitioning into adolescents often have trouble knowing who they are and experience self-doubt and uncertainty around knowing who they want to become as they grow into young adults. Childhood is the slow transition into adulthood and each child makes this transition differently but the supports they have and skills they learn help to ensure a more confident and capable individual who is confident in their own ability to navigate the challenges life will continue to give. I work with children ranging in ages 10 to 17 to increase their skill sets that can help them navigate difficult experiences, stressors, and mental health challenges. Therapy can help children and adolescents better understand themselves, identify and recognize feelings, increase healthy boundaries and set appropriate limits, and communicate more effectively with their peers and others they interact with. I encourage you to schedule a 15 minute phone consultation to see if I could be the right fit for your child, or schedule an appointment now my contact information here.

The relationships between humans and pets are strong and the benefits of these relationships have been shown to be a positive factor in a persons’ psychological health. Research suggests having a therapy dog present in a counseling session can help positively effect mental health by reducing anxiety, aggression, giving comfort, and increase communication. It can also build trust, increase empathy, offer emotional support, and improve social connection for the client. AAT is a documented, structured, treatment approach between a trained animal and a mental health clinician. It uses specific Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) to meet identified therapeutic goals. AAT is often used with a variety of mental health disorders including PTSD, Autism, different trauma disorders, ADHD, depression, anxiety, ODD, and attachment issues.

In 2020, I briefly, left my youngest daughter and husband back in California to start a new job here in Arizona. They joined me soon after, but the separation was hard for my daughter. To help with our time a part, I sent her a special bear she could keep and she named him Tucker.

When we moved to Arizona, my daughter met our neighbor’s Goldendoodle, Bailey and she fell in love with her new best friend. Bailey helped our daughter’s transition to a new home and the adjustment of leaving her friends and family behind in California; Bailey also became the friend she needed when she was lonely or sad. We decided to find our own dog and incorporate him into our family and into my private practice so he could help others as Tucker and Bailey helped our daughter when she needed the comfort of an animal, both stuffed and real.

Tucker is a purebred Goldendoodle in training to be a certified therapy dog. Tucker’s role at Sun Valley Family Therapy is to provide mental health supports to my clients. You will find his personality to be friendly and fun loving. I encourage Tucker to be engaging with my clients when he is in session, and I want my clients to feel comfortable interacting with him. Tucker helps to provide support with individuals who experience anxiety and depression, he can be part of a social skills training process, increase confidence, help clients feel safe and secure when processing trauma, or he can just be a fun presence.

Research suggests having a therapy dog present in a counseling session can help positively effect mental health by reducing anxiety and aggression, they also give comfort, increase communication, help build trust, and empathy, offer emotional support, and help increase social connection between the therapist and client.

As Tucker moves through his training process, he will earn both his Canine Good Citizen (CGC-C) and together Tucker will earn his  Animal Assisted Therapy certification (AAT-C). If you would like to be a part of Tucker’s training process, feel free to reach out to me and schedule a session. Therapy with a service dog may not be the right fit for everyone, so contact me for a consultation. I do not have children under the age of 10 in my session with Tucker at this time, as he has not completed his CGC-C and he is still in training. Once he has completed his trainings this will change and specific fees for his services will also be applied. We look forward to the fun we will have working with you in this exciting new phase of our program.