Category Archives: Staff Member

I have been in practice for over 30 years treating individuals and couples. While I specialize in working with those struggling with depression and anxiety, I also enjoy working with couples who are experiencing conflict or want to enhance their relationship. My Ph.D. is from Loyola University-Chicago with a heavy emphasis on theory, especially psychodynamic, narrative, and family systems. However, I am very eclectic in my approach and can use behavioral and cognitive approaches as well as a depth psychology approach that seeks to heal underlying conflicts or ambivalences that are fueled by unresolved feelings and needs.

I have worked in a variety of outpatient mental health and treatment programs, including St. Anthony’s Hyland Center and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and I was the director of the FlexCare Treatment Program. In addition to maintaining my practice at West County Psychological Associates, I was an Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University before retiring in 2019 to devote more time to my practice.

As a former teacher, principal, and assistant professor, I work with schools who would like to strengthen their school environments in a variety of areas. I provide educational consulting services and professional development for principals and faculty, and workshops for students and parents. Workshops and professional development are tailored to meet the needs of individual schools. My training includes cultural competence, parenting cafes, and suicide prevention, to name a few. I am presently working on combining my previous educational experience with the world of social work.

I earned my Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Missouri. I specialize in working with couples on relationship concerns, as well as sexual addiction, infidelity and sex therapy. In addition, I work with clients experiencing eating disorders, issues post-bariatric surgery, depression and anxiety. My philosophy involves welcoming clients into a comfortable therapeutic alliance infused with respect, trust, compassion, and a bit of humor. The therapeutic techniques I use include cognitive behavioral therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), motivational interviewing, and family systems therapy. My passions center around collaborating with clients by supporting them in gaining more adaptive and healthier coping skills to pursue greater happiness and control over their lives.

I am passionate about working with seniors and their caregivers. I specialize in providing therapy to individuals, couples and families experiencing depression, anxiety, grief and loss, due to complex life transitions. Caregiver stress is also an interest of mine. We develop coping strategies together.

Having over 30 years of experience working in elder care, I utilize an eclectic, evidence-based and individualized approach to treatment. I previously worked as a medical social worker at a local hospital and as the Manager of Senior Services at a premier social service and mental health agency in Saint Louis for many years.

In addition to my work with individuals and families, I enjoy leading support groups and participating in professional panels. I also serve on two community boards.

In my 34 years of service as an educator, I have worked as a teacher, instructional leader, and principal. During that time of working collaboratively with my teaching peers, school leaders and community to effectively teach students, I have learned that leadership and teaching excellence is created among people with a shared vision for continuous improvement.

My work has been built on the belief that the school functions as a community and the growth of its members are fundamental. I specialize in helping school leaders create a purposeful culture whose focus is engaging educators in collaborative learning. Those in the learning community; teachers, staff, school leaders, parents and community must learn together to ensure success for all students. My experience in creating a collaborative learning community has equipped me to provide leadership training for principals, staffs, and parents. I am especially interested in providing professional development in the areas of:

• Culture creation for staff continuous learning, teamwork and problem solving;
• Professional development embedded within the school day;
• Parent training as they seek to partner with the school and advocate for their child’s education

I have eight years of experience providing mental health services in the school setting which includes providing counseling and crisis intervention services to students and their families. I have also worked in several community mental health settings providing individual and group therapy to adolescents and adults. I enjoy working with adolescents and adults who are experiencing depression, anxiety, life transitions, adjustment to disability, and stressful life events or trauma. I am a strengths-based, client-centered clinician who utilizes a variety of therapeutic techniques to meet the needs of each client. I am passionate about collaborating with clients and providing a safe, non-judgmental space in therapy for clients to feel comfortable being themselves so they can discover their own strengths and passions. In addition to my work with clients and in schools, I have also taught Internship and Advanced Internship as an adjunct faculty member for Maryville’s Rehabilitation Counseling graduate program where I earned the Adjunct Faculty of the Year award in May 2021

I have worked in clinical and educational settings, both public and private. I provide individual, family, and group therapy with children, adolescents, and adults who are struggling with depression, anxiety, and self-identity, as well as psychosocial challenges. Since people are shaped by their cultural, social, and ethnic identities, I use my training and awareness in these areas to meet individuals where they are which helps them garner personal success. I work with students who are having difficulty with feeling connected to the school environment by meeting with them individually, in groups, and also with their families. This has often caused students to present negative behaviors resulting in high suspension rates and a display of other negative behaviors in the school setting.

I facilitate small and large groups and provide individual therapy on different topics including parenting, grief, marriage, trauma, self-identity, equity and inclusion, and divorce counseling. I work with schools to facilitate successful ways to help parents navigate “messy” divorces to ensure children and adolescents do not get caught up in the drama that can cause harm. This work extends to the parents as well. I work with individuals who have been traumatized by events that can halt their growth.

Within the educational realm, I have worked with students of all ages. Facilitation within the school environment has been helping white teachers manage the behavior of students who do not look like them and learn to understand students with different ethnic, social, and cultural backgrounds, including religion. This includes teaching teachers and administrators how to build positive, sustainable relationships to yield better behavioral and academic success.

I have over 25 years’ experience in working with children, adolescents, and families in a variety of settings. Providing private therapeutic services to children and adolescents is a passion for me. Watching individuals learn coping skills and strategies and then apply them to their everyday life is something I look forward seeing within my clients. I currently work with clients on a variety of issues with a focus on anxiety and school-related issues.

Another area of focus for me is working directly as a school consultant in private, parochial and public school settings. I find particular satisfaction in helping students embrace the power within themselves to work through social or academic difficulties and succeed. I enjoy providing professional development to teachers and staff on a variety of topics, such as behavior management, anxiety in the classroom, ADHD education and management, as well as many other school related topics. I am constantly learning new approaches to help my clients, schools and families navigate each stage of development.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and also hold a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School. I have experience providing counseling services to adolescents and adults in various settings within the community and schools. In an effort to restore hope, foster healing, and strengthen resilience, I use a collaborative and compassionate approach to counseling. I enjoy helping others using strengths-based psychological concepts, as well as spiritual concepts and practices to best meet the needs of my clients. 

My therapy practice emphasizes providing emotional support and guidance to adolescents, young adults, and adults, specifically focusing on adjustment issues, significant life changes, anxiety, depression, grief, and loss. My passion is to empower clients to identify what is valuable and sacred in their lives, to enjoy a greater sense of connection and belonging, and to find meaning and purpose in their lived experiences.