I am an Expressive Arts Therapist and Professional Counselor.  An Expressive Arts Therapist uses art, dance, music, drama, play and writing as tools in the process of therapy.  I have worked in a variety of settings, including private practice, schools, hospitals, and various community settings.  As a professional counselor I am licensed in the state of Michigan to provide counseling and psychotherapy to individuals and groups. 

 

I was born and raised in Grand Rapids.  Dance and art were my refuge in school and throughout my life, but most especially in my teen years.  That is part of what drew me to the field of Expressive Therapy.  My lived experiences have informed my work as a therapist and helps me to build connection with my clients.  This has been particularly true in my experience of being a therapist with ADHD. 

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I have worked in a number of different populations, and bring insights learned through that work into my private practice.  This includes working with youth who have high, long-term support needs; people in acute crisis; people with chronic illnesses and their loved ones, people with histories of trauma; the disabled community; and people with developmental disabilities or differences.

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You may notice throughout my website, blog and in-person I use a variety of different words and phrases like, "Allied and Affirming" or "Neurodivergent."  As a therapist, a big part of my job is to listen, and the language I use is drawn from that listening and learning from people with different experiences than my own.  When talking about a community or group of people, I try to use the language they have chosen for themselves, which is sometimes different than the language I've been taught to use. 

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