Vulnerability begets vulnerability;
may mine create a safe space for yours
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therapist, coach
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Licensed Professional Counselor
Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy
EMDR trained
Certified Professional Co-active Coach
Internal Family Systems Coach
Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner
Arkitekt Facilitator (<---learn more!)
Owner and person of Moose
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One of the joys of working from home is that I (and many of you!) get to enjoy the presence of Moose during our sessions, while those who do not prefer animals or suffer from allergies can simply ignore that he is off sleeping somewhere quietly during our time.
NOT HAVING HAIR
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I am not in treatment and I don't shave my head for religious or cultural reasons. The truth is, I am not sure what caused a sudden and severe onset of leaky gut that, among other things, caused my hair to fall out when I was 38. I figure God has a purpose in it though, and He still does. And, I think it must have to do with something more or greater than or beyond me and my physical appearance. I do have four daughters who watch how I live my life, so maybe it's about finding freedom from worldly values and standards of beauty and modeling it for their sake. At the end of the day, I'd like to say I'd lose it all over again if this can inspire women to harness what actually matters most: beauty from within.
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So while I do wear different wigs in our sessions so you or your daughter aren't distracted, me with my shiney bald head is likely how you will see me out in public. Unless it's cold outside ;)
​PROFESSIONAL BLURB
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In 2006 I started my own life coaching business as a single mom. I had found my passion as a coach and began working with clients through transitions and career changes, developing identity and self-esteem, and creating visions and achieving goals for their lives. However, in the wake of my divorce I recognized the tremendous need and subsequent lack of support for those in the divorce process. I shifted gears and developed divorce-recovery coaching programs and ran groups to empower clients to get pointed in a direction they could believe in.
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In the more recent years, I earned my masters in marriage and family therapy with the intention to work with couples to help them remain married and avoid the devastation of divorce - if at all possible. And while I loved this work, God kept bringing teenage girls and women of all ages into my office.
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So?
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That is how I got to where I am today; I have found my deepest calling
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I continue to learn new things, study new techniques and advance my knowledge in order to keep my practice fresh, on par and interesting. This also enables me to pull from a range of tools, exercise and interventions to see what each woman connects with the most.
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Trainings and Certifications:
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Bachelors in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (2000)
Co-Active Coaching from globally recognized Coach Training Institute (2006)
Professional Certification in Co-Active Coaching Coach Training Institute (2007)
Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy from Liberty University (2015)
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) from the School for Modern Psychology (2019)
Internal Family Systems coach training from the Institute for Self Leadership (2019)
EMDR from the EMDR Center of the Rockies (2020)
Inner Relational Focusing (IRF) Certified from the Embody Lab (2022)
Somatic Attachment Certificate from the Embody Lab (2022)
Flash Technique for Traumatic Memory Reconsolidation Thomas Zimmerman (2022)
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IN SESSIONS
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When you come in, you can expect warmth. You can expect conversation. You can expect that I am going to engage with you in an open, honest manner. I teach, guide, explore, show, relate the human experience - all the while remain highly in tune with your pace, your response, your needs and your desires.
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I utilize:
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Somatic/Body work to engage the nervous system and its natural propensity for healing
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EMDR
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mindfulness/breathing techniques
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cutting edge models of human experiences and responses
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guided visualizations for symptom control, relaxation, inner awareness and/or wisdom
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worksheets to help you sort your thoughts and beliefs
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book recommendations
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between session suggestions, challenges or prompts to deepen what we do together in session
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I have an insatiable hunger to facilitate healing and I believe it shows in how I work with women and teenagers. I naturally blend life experience and training and many tell me this provides a rich, intuitive and inviting experience. Clients tell me I am interactive, engaging, warm, insightful and that my presence is disarming and helps encourage the facilitation of trust. Well I hope so! You will need to find out for yourself though ;)
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MY FAITH
My faith is something you should know about. It is absolutely what informs my every move, thought, opinion and action. That by no means suggests I am a perfect person, it just means I love Jesus with every fiber of my being and I want to live according to how He calls me to live. Sometimes I rock it, other times I trip over my own feet and fall face first on the ground. Thank God for grace​.
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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU IN SESSIONS?
It means if you want to talk about Jesus and bring Him into our sessions, then girrrrrl -- we're gonna bring the house down together! Or not, it's up to you. It also means there is freedom to pray or ask questions or look to Him or find Him within.... whatever is important and in line with your belief systems, we have the freedom to utilize your faith in our sessions.
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Or maybe you believe but wish to keep it more private? Or maybe you're new to your faith and not comfortable yet? Or maybe you're unsure altogether? Those are all beautiful places to be too. There is zero expectation here.
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DO YOU HAVE TO BE A BELIEVER TOO?
But please don't worry - if you don't share a love for Jesus like I do that is perfectly okay! I work with all kinds of women who hold a variety of belief systems that are important to them. My approach is that spirituality matters, especially when we are suffering. I honor that this is deeply personal to you, whether that means talking about the Universe, Buddha, the Dali Lama, your favorite quote, Cookie Monster - it doesn't matter to me. So I invite you to relax... you will never hear me bible thumping or converting or judging or intentionally living out any of the negative stereotypes of Christianity. All this means to you in session is that I am going to operate from a value system of unconditional love, non-judgment, a desire to meet you right where you are and that all parts of you are welcome to the table. Period.
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My doors are open to all no matter who you are, what you wear, who you are attracted to, what you identify as, what you believe, what you are looking for, what color your eyes are or even if you have hair or not (but in the case that you don't, we should talk regardless!).
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FUN LITTLE BLURB
Warm, engaging, feisty, courageous, healing and curious...that might be me in a nutshell. Well, sorta, because I am also told I am an eclectic mix of emotion, logic, spirituality, momentum and passion. I DO know that I come with an insatiable hunger to connect in all these ways with other women and teenage girls. It is critical for me to be real, raw, authentic and then use that space to facilitate healing in others - one woman at a time. It is my life’s work to go deep, uproot and release not only my own battles/struggles/strongholds, but also those of who God brings my way. Nothing brings me greater joy than to be used by Him in ways that help women shine a little brighter, stand a little taller and jump a little higher. Life is life-giving; I live for these opportunities.
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Born and raised a SoCal girl on the beach, I moved to and fell in love with the Colorado mountains in 1989. I have lived in big cities, little mountain towns and currently dream of the nomadic life where (some of) my family can sleep in our homemade campervan wherever we park that night. Meanwhile, I love to call Fort Collins my home with my crazy (--->fun) husband. We are a blended family and between us have 5 kids. But honestly, our love is even bigger than that. We have been blessed to have other people’s kids and other families who we get to call our own and watch them grow up in our home too. So I prefer to say we have “many” kids/family members who take advantage of our open-door policy and bless our lives tremendously.
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I restore my soul through prayer, yoga, spending time in the wilderness, singing in the car, prioritizing, playing with my dogs, saying “I can’t right now” without apology, meeting regularly with my sister-tribe and creating memories with family and friends. I think life is made up of a million deposits into ourselves, our relationships and our communities, so I strive to make these deposits intentional, positive, strong and I do so with everything I've got. (Sometimes that’s a lot, other times it’s hardly anything. And I'm okay with it).
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WHY "RISE AGAIN"?
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Plain and simple, the theme of my life centers around how to Rise Again. There are countless times where I have had to regain a sense of power, find my voice and figure out where to go after circumstances had left me in the rubble of devastation. In the work of Arkitekt, these times are referred to as the wrecking balls of our lives. I have lived inside the worlds of addiction, suicide/depression, abuse, traumatic loss, tragedy, divorce, single parenthood, remarriage/blending families, illness... You feel me?
Don't most of us have stories like this? Your story may not look or sound exactly the same as mine, but we all have them and it's how we share in and relate the collective human experience. We get knocked down sometimes - hard - and when we get back up maybe it's like we get knocked right back down again. Even still, I know and believe God truly does bring beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3) and this brings me hope because frankly, something has to. And as a result of experiencing the beauty of being able to rise again out from the ashes, I now know and believe with every fiber of my being that this is possible and true for everyone I meet. So believe it sister:
we can all continue to rise again more. beautiful. than. ever.
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You can read about:
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Not having hair
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My professional journey
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What to expect in a session
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My faith
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A little about me personally
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The naming of my business