Being the daughter of a man who spent 25 years in law enforcement, after he served in the military, I learned at a young age how a person, their family, and their friends can be impacted by the stress, traumatic experiences, crisis, hypervigilance, shift work, overtime, sleep disruption, and other mental injuries have on a good life balance.   Even knowing all of this, I chose to begin a career as a Deputy Sheriff. 

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During my time at the Sheriff’s Office, I worked in the work release program, ran the community service program, worked in the jail, and was on the Peer Support Team.  I did the shift work and overtime, experienced the stress and hypervigilance, watched people get laid off and saw the expectation to do more with less increase.  I witnessed the impact on my co-workers, their families, and friends.   It was my time on the Peer Support Team (and years bartending) that spawned my desire to be a part of the mental health field. 

​Combining what I learned while on the Peer Support Team with my own experiences, I felt that I could do more for first responders by being a therapist.  I went back to school and received my master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and became a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) for the state of Oregon.  My proficiency and focus is with first responders, their families, the systems in which they work, and the impact it all has on the individual, the family unit, and their overall lifestyle.  I am trained in EMDR which is an evidenced based treatment for trauma and completed a specialty training in EMDR to work specifically with first responders.  I have attended training to increase my knowledge of cultures such as fire and military, completed CISM training, and read work completed by others to increase my proficiency with my ultimate goal of helping those that help others.

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On a personal note, I enjoy camping (glamping in our 5th wheel), hunting, music festivals, DIY, spending time with family, friends, and framily, and very much love to travel.  My children are of the four legged variety and are spoiled rotten.  Prior to law enforcement, I worked in restaurants and bar tended.  I realize that bar tending, law enforcement , and counseling are all very similar.  It is about people.