I create a safe zone where my clients are free to explore the scary parts of their lives that they have tucked away. We do not have to be defined by the things that happen to us. We are the sum total of our lives. I work with you to help you develop the tools you need to take the helm of your own life. You are capable of healing and transforming your own life. And I like to not “get stuck in the blame game”. We are all on our own path, and whatever coping mechanisms served you when you were in flight, fight, or freeze (some people can be stuck in these their whole lives) Your path is HERE AND NOW and we all have a past that can inform us, take what we can from it, bring our adult self on board to look at it, and then put it to rest with our other memories because that is all it is now a memory that sometimes we make the mistake of reliving over and over again when in reality you have already survived. I have lived in Durango since 1997, graduating from Fort Lewis College with a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology. During that time, I worked at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for four years, finally realizing the judicial system was not where I would do my best work to help empower those who find themselves caught up in it. I received my master’s degree in social work from the University of Denver in 2010. I was the Southwest Regional Representative for the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance and I volunteered for Durango’s Sexual Assault Services Organization for 4 years, I was then honored to be on the Board. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). I have a passion for helping victims of assault, whether physical, sexual, or power-oriented. I know the dehumanizing nature of this path firsthand. I can help to guide, empower and educate my clients, should they find themselves in a similar situation. Fun fact about me I live on what I lovingly refer to as “my useless farm” I have, rabbits, chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs. My favorite place to be is outside interacting with nature and animals, and having a useless farm allows me to practice being mindful every morning and morning night. And I love music and to read.