I became interested in becoming a therapist when I was six years old and held my baby brother for the first time, I knew I wanted to work with kids. Watching him grow, learn, and change was very exciting. I started my journey in Early Childhood Education in high school, taking all the classes I could, and then began college at Southern Illinois University as an Early Childhood Major. During my junior year of college in a Political Science class, we had to follow a story in our local paper. Department of Child and Family Services was in the paper, as they were looking to make changes within the organization and for children in foster care. This article inspired me to change my major to Human Services and transfer schools. I graduated from the College of DuPage with an associate's degree in Residential Child Care, then received my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services from National Louis University. My first job was for a private agency contracted with DCFS. I loved my job, which allowed me to advocate for children and work with providers to ensure that all the children on my caseload received the quality care they needed and deserved. After having children, I decided to be a stay-at-home mom, I became the PTA President, Vice President and ran several different committees. I continued to advocate for children, just in a different role. During this time, I was also a substitute teacher for district 54 (in Illinois), an infant/toddler teacher, and I volunteered as the poms manager for SAA. When my children were older, I returned to school to receive my Master’s Degree in Human Services Community Counseling. I returned to the field at a community counseling agency where I worked with children ages 4-24, ran DBT groups for High School and Junior High students, a group for 5-8 years old with ADHD, and a parenting group
I enjoy working with a variety of children and their families. I have experience working with teens with depression, anxiety, and self-harm; I also work with children diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, anxiety, and other behavior disorders. I often use Dialectical Behavior Therapy as well as Cognitive Behavior Therapy to help clients meet their therapy goals. I believe in working with the families and other outside providers to ensure the clients that I see have the best possible care. My main focus will be aimed around the following: Individual Therapy for Children and Adolescents ages 4-24 years old.
Children and Adolescents struggling with Anxiety, Depression, Self-Esteem, and Self-Harm with a focus on harm-reduction and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy Children with ADHD and behavioral concerns through the use of behavioral intervention, parenting support, and heavy collaboration. Play Therapy for children. Individual therapy for adolescents of the LGBTQ community. Mindfulness skill-building.
Insurances Accepted:
BCBS, Cigna, Aetna, Tricare, UHC, Optum
$200/session (without insurance)