I knew that I wanted to be a therapist ever since I was in high school. I had a difficult time as a teen and gravitated to art as a way to cope with life's many obstacles. I started out at San Francisco state taking art classess and psychology classes. I was fortunate enough to find a class about working with kids using art. It was in that class that I learned about art therapy, which blended the two things in life I was most passionate about. After I earned my BA in Psychology with a minor in art I was off to College of Notre Dame in Belmont for my Art Therapy/ Marraige and Family Therapy MA. I always had a passion for working with children and teens. While in the bay area I started my hours as an intern in some difficult settings. I started off working in the school setting with children with autism. Then I worked in residential care in the bay area with teens dealing with many major issues including eating disorders, oppositional defiant dissorder, and depression to name a few. I got married and them moved to Roseville. I continued my internship working at foster agency sessings working with traumatized children and teens. Through out all of my training I was able to use art to help these children develop a sense of who they are and heal. After years of school work and internship training I completed my hours and passed my licensing exam, and became an MFT and a registered art therapist. I was lucky to find a job as an art therapist with the childrens bereavement art group. I facilitated bereavement art groups with children and teens for almost 7 years with Sutter. A few years later I decided to go into private practice to work with children and teens on a smaller scale. I have been in private practice ever since and am now living my dream. I recently moved my practice from Sacramento to Folsom so I can be closer to home and my two kids.
I find that art is always my go to with clients. Children are most comfortable expressing themselves in a creative way. I have learned to incorporate play therapy techniques and sand tray therapy into my healing basket. Through out my training and working with traumatized clients I found EMDR. I became trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which has been proven effective in resolving trauma of all kinds. I also find that I can use the therapy tappers with art and help children process the art in a new way.
Education
BA in Psychology with a minor in Art
from San Francisco State
MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and
Art Therapy from College of Notre Dame in Belmont
License, Certifications
Board certified Art Therapist
Level 1 and 2 trained in
EMDR
Additional Training
Attended many work shops in art
therapy, play therapy, and sand tray therapies and EMDR.
Professional Activities and Memberships
CAMFT
American Art Therapy Association