I am a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Tennessee (License #2368) and California (License #82203), and I am certified to provide online counseling in South Carolina ( 718 MFT) and Florida ( 640). I have a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology from Biola University and a Master’s of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Trinity College of Graduate Studies. I attended grad scho
ol while I was newly married and pregnant with my first child, so you know I was committed to my studies. (I also tell myself that maybe, just maybe, my son learned some good therapeutic stuff by osmosis, while in the womb!)
I spent over 25 years working in the field of public child welfare. And for those that don’t know, that’s CPS – Child Protective Services. That means I’ve worked with individuals and families from diverse backgrounds and populations, struggling with multiple issues, including generational and complex trauma, substance abuse, domestic violence, physical abuse, anxiety, and depression. I’ve helped many families heal and reunify, and I’ve personally learned a lot in the process. I also spent 7 years training and coaching Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists about communication, family engagement, and best practice in Child Welfare and I continue to do Child Welfare training. I am also a Alternate Dispute Mediator and provide mediation services for Juvenile Dependency matters in California. I am a member of the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (AAMFT) and the California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (CAMFT). I utilize several evidence-based theoretical approaches in therapy and integrate a number of models depending on the issues at hand. Some of these models include:
● Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
● Solution-Focused Therapy
● Motivational Interviewing
● Narrative Therapy
While I can work with you on a wide variety of issues, my specialties include:
Couples Counseling/Marriage Counseling
Pre-Marital Counseling
Communication
Perfectionism
Stress & Anxiety
Work & Life Related Burn Out
Mustard Seed Christian Counseling is a counseling practice that provides professional psychotherapy services to anyone looking for counseling. My services are provided through a secure online video/telehealth platform and are available for anyone residing in Tennessee, California, South Carolina, and Florida. I honor clients where they are in life or on their spiritual journey. I am a Christian and my beliefs inform my approach. I integrate spirituality whenever it’s welcomed by clients, or leave it out, if that’s not your cup of tea. You set the tone for your sessions. I provide an empathetic, safe, and comfortable therapeutic environment where you will not feel judged, but will feel heard, valued, and understood. Online Counseling throughout Tennessee, California, South Carolina, & Florida
Couples/Marriage Counseling
More than anything, you want to save your relationship. You’ve been together for a long time and just want to be able to talk to each other without it turning into a fight every time. You feel disconnected from each other. You feel like you and your partner can’t even talk about simple stuff because you always disagree. Or worse yet, you’ve stopped listening to each other, or maybe even stopped caring. You feel like you and your partner are just roommates, instead of soulmates. You feel like it’s easier to just avoid each other, than run the risk of another hurtful argument. And you feel lonely, even though you share a home. In a down to earth way, I will teach you how to listen to each other, how to create healthy boundaries in the relationship, how to have difficult conversations & fight fairly, and how to maintain a healthy relationship. Together we will practice these new skills in session, until they become almost second nature. Communication problems happen, often because we haven’t learned any conflict resolution skills or how to fight fairly. Obviously couples will disagree; that’s natural. It’s how you handle the disagreements that matter. In therapy, you’ll learn fair fighting rules and conflict resolution, so that you have tools in your toolbelt for when you do disagree. Pre-Marital Counseling
There’s lots of things to consider before you say “I Do”. Frequently, I find that couples in the early stages of a relationship can’t see some red flags or haven’t taken the time to think about some of the bigger issues that will come up in a marriage. Things go so much smoother and relationships last when the people involved talk through their values and goals together before the legally binding vows. It’s best for both people to know where the other person stands on big topics, such as finances, children, family roles, communication, etc. In partnership with you, I can help you get all the cards on the table, so you can make an informed decision about spending the rest of your lives together and about what issues you may need to address more closely. Anxiety & Stress
Lately You’ve Been Feeling Like You Just Can’t Keep Your Head Above Water
You’ve got a “To Do” list a mile long, and it just keeps growing. Just when you mark one thing off the list, another two things take its place. Not to mention, your spouse needs your attention, your kids need your attention, and work is non-stop. You’re juggling 20 things at once, and at any moment you might drop a ball. Do you ever picture yourself in a huge lake with just your eyes and nose barely sticking out of the water, barely able to breathe? You wonder how long before you just go under. Or it’s like you’re carrying a big, huge backpack filled to the brim with what feels like bricks? Each brick is a worry, a fear, or a nagging thought. Ever wondered what it would feel like to get rid of some of those bricks? You’ve probably felt something like this before and you feel like you just can’t do it anymore. You feel like no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to relax. There’s always something on your mind. Sometimes your mind is going a mile a minute and your heart feels like it’s beating out of your chest. You freeze or panic, often at the most inopportune times. Or sometimes your thoughts keep you up at night. Now you’re ready to stop living like that and figure out how to finally have peace, to slow down and enjoy the life you’ve created, the life you’ve worked so hard for. Together, we’ll tackle these things. We’ll create bite size pieces that feel manageable. We develop margin in your life so that everything doesn’t feel urgent. We’ll make schedules that work for you, instead of you working for your calendar. We’ll fight against the stress and anxiety, so that they no longer have control over you and you can finally relax and enjoy your life, even when things do get stressful from time to time. Depression
Do you feel like you just aren’t motivated to do anything or go anywhere? You’d rather just stay home and sleep. You just sit and watch t.v. mindlessly or scroll through social media. Are these feelings of depression interfering with your daily life and functioning? Do you find it hard to be productive at work? Are there days you just don’t get out of bed or get dressed? Sometimes We Just Need a Reminder
When you’re caught in a cycle of depression, you may not be able to see your way out, so you get stuck even further in the pit. We will work together, using the power of Positive Psychology, to recall the things that bring you joy and the things you’re grateful for. We’ll use visualization to project the happiness you wish for yourself. We will work together to overcome the depression that’s taken a hold of you, and bring you back into a place of balance and contentment. Sometimes, you just need someone else to come alongside you and remind you of all the good things. Perfectionism & Work/Life Burnout or Balance
Perfectionism is What Made You Successful
But, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. Your high standards and lofty goals sounded great when you first ventured into the work world. You wanted to do the best, be the best. Your attention to detail and high standards definitely played an important role in your success. Sometimes perfectionism actually gets in your way. It stops you from doing things, because you’re afraid it won’t be perfect, it won’t be your best. Do you feel like nothing you do is good enough? Chances are that you’ve felt that way for so long, you’ve come to believe it yourself. Often times I find that people who struggle with perfectionism often had very critical parents or caretakers, who made them feel that even their best wasn’t good enough, so they always tried to do better, be better. Perfection equaled love and acceptance. For them, it seemed that the only way they could be loved and acceptance was to be the best – to be perfect. You have a good life and a good career. You’re successful in all your roles. But you still feel like you’re not good enough. Like you need to be more, do more. But you still feel empty. You have all the things. You do all the things. But you still feel like an imposter in your own life. You wonder what’s wrong with you that you can’t just be yourself and enjoy your good life. You feel like everyone is judging you and you’ll never live up to expectations. You feel like nothing you do is good enough. Chances are you’ve felt that way so long, you’ve come to believe it yourself. And now there are patterns in place that you can’t seem to break But now you’re ready to change those beliefs, break those patterns, and learn to value yourself and take control of your own life. You want to feel comfortable in your own skin. You want to be comfortable being authentically you. You want to be that confident person who doesn't worry about what everyone else thinks. You want to enjoy your life now, instead of always feeling like you need to be “better”. You want to be able to believe that you are “good enough” just as you are, and stop spending so much energy trying to be someone different. Together we can work on rebuilding and strengthening yourself, so you can believe in yourself, your worth, and your value. Together we can work to increase your self-confidence by decreasing your need to be perfect. We can work together to develop a work/life balance that isn’t based on performance or perfection.
