I was an anxious kid who struggled to manage my fears. I didn’t know what was happening inside of me so I was continually looking for ways to calm my mind and body. In college, I took a psychology class and learned there was a reason behind my fearful thoughts. As I began learning about my own brain, I realized how much I would have benefitted from learning coping strategies as a young child.

This desire to help children just like I was, led me to Vanderbilt University for graduate school where I studied Counseling. My first job was as an elementary school counselor where I began teaching young children how to manage emotions. I studied Play Therapy and went on to become a Registered Play Therapist as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor.

After eight years, I left the school setting and opened a private practice where I spent the next twenty years counseling children and adolescents, working with families and supervising other counselors. I also began teaching graduate counseling students at Vanderbilt University.