I did not always know I wanted to be a therapist, but looking back, I can see pieces of it throughout my life. I have always been someone people came to when they needed advice, a listening ear, or simply a place to vent. From a young age, I also felt strongly about advocating for people who were being mistreated, overlooked, or did not know how to advocate for themselves.

That desire to advocate for others followed me into the Navy and, eventually, into family law. As a family law paralegal, I found tremendous purpose in helping people navigate some of the most difficult and uncertain periods of their lives. I genuinely thought I had found my lifelong career.

Then my own life changed.

During a difficult season surrounding my own divorce, I experienced a mental health crisis. Healing from that experience took time, and it fundamentally changed the way I understood mental health, resilience, and what it means to truly help another person.

When I returned to helping people navigate their own family conflicts, I began seeing the person underneath the legal case differently. I understood the fear, anger, grief, and overwhelm on a much deeper level. I still wanted to advocate for people, but I realized I wanted to do it in a different way.

That realization eventually led me to clinical mental health counseling.

Today, I believe therapy can be a place where you do not have to perform, have all the answers, or carry everyone else's expectations. Sometimes we simply need somewhere safe to put it all down.

My own journey taught me that being strong and being in control are two different things. It also taught me that difficult seasons do not have to become permanent ones. I know what it is like for life to look very different than you thought it would, and I know what it is like to come out on the other side and genuinely love your life again.

That is the hope I bring into the therapy room.