As both an RN (medical and mental health) and clinical social worker, I see many clients and families struggling with major medical issues. Additionally I see primarily individual adults who are dealing with life transitions in work and school, relationship problems, anxiety and depression, identity issues, people learning to remove blocks to healthier living and creativity, and people who wish t
o better align their habits and behaviors with their deepest goals and values . I have been on the boards of both domestic violence shelters and hospice and am skilled in working with people dealing with abuse and end of life issues. Before becoming a clinical social worker I worked as a psychiatric nurse and group leader for several years at the Menninger Clinic when it was still in KS so I have an appreciation for a more psychodynamic and depth approach, although I am aware that many clients do not have the desire or resources for a longer-term approach to therapy. I am trained in some biofeedback practices and regularly practice various types of mindfulness skills myself. I was affiliated as both an RN and a social worker (intern and staff) and DBT trainee at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. I believe that working in both a world class private inpatient hospital as well as many years in the public sector with seriously challenged clients has deepened my clinical skills with a wide variety of populations. I have a strong commitment to honoring clients' faith paths, culture and ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Over my decades of work as an educator, nurse and social worker, I have been buoyed by the bravery and tenacity of students and clients and likewise humbled as they allow me to work with them during the most daunting times of their lives. When not working in my now half-time practice, I enjoy gardening, being with my animals and in nature, sewing, watching indie/art/foreign films, attending cultural events with friends, doing home improvement projects on my century-old house, participating in community activism for social justice, and reading reading reading. I am trying to practice the suggestions about leading a balanced life which I give to clients; this hopefully helps me to be more compassionate about their struggles as I work to live a more passionate and skillful life.
