Why I specialize in what I do

Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people come to therapy, and also one of the most misunderstood. It gets treated like a personality flaw or a sign that someone needs to just calm down or worry less. But anxiety is a nervous system response, and for a lot of women in their 20s and 30s, it has been running in the background so long it just feels like who they are.

What I see most often is not someone who is falling apart. It is someone who is holding everything together incredibly well on the outside while feeling overwhelmed, overstretched, and exhausted on the inside. The anxiety shows up as perfectionism, over-preparing, people-pleasing, difficulty making decisions, or a constant low hum of dread that never fully goes away.

Stress compounds all of it. Career pressure, financial uncertainty, relationship dynamics, family expectations, and the particular kind of always-on mental load that this generation carries means the window between "I'm fine" and "I'm not fine" can close fast. Therapy is not about eliminating stress. It is about building enough capacity and clarity that stress stops running your life.

ADHD in women is chronically overlooked. The research has historically centered on male presentations, and many women I work with spent years feeling they were too anxious, too emotional, or not trying hard enough. What was actually happening was that their brain worked differently and nobody had the right language for it yet.

OCD is similarly misunderstood. Most people picture hand-washing or wanting things neat and orderly, but OCD shows up in dozens of ways: intrusive thoughts, existential fears, emotional distress around symmetry or just-right feelings, and magical thinking. ERP is highly effective for OCD, but only if you find a therapist who has completed specific training.

Trauma touches almost everything. It lives in the body, in the nervous system, and in the stories people tell themselves about who they are and whether they are safe. EMDR is the most effective tool I have found for helping people move through and past what happened to them, not just manage it.

About me

I've spent 9 years working in mental health, including 8 years in inpatient psychiatric care, which means I've sat with people in their hardest, most overwhelming moments. I've also spent 8 years teaching graduate counseling students, which means I care deeply about doing therapy the right way, with real clinical skill behind every session.

I specialize in working with women in their 20s and 30s navigating anxiety, ADHD, career stress, relationship struggles, and that feeling of "I'm doing everything right, so why does it still feel like this?" I use CBT and EMDR — wait, I use CBT and am EMDR trained, and I tailor every session to you.

Scheduling with me is easy. I keep the admin stuff minimal. And I'll never make you feel like a number on a caseload. I offer online sessions across Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Florida, and I accept both insurance and private pay.

Credentials

• Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), Minnesota

• LPCC-S in North Dakota

• LMHC in Iowa

• Licensed Mental Health Counselor Out of State Telehealth in Florida

• Specialized training in ERP for OCD

• Specialized training in EMDR for trauma and PTSD

• Working with clients since 2016