I received my Master’s in Counseling from Indiana University at IPFW in 1996. I am dually licensed both as a Mental Health Counselor and as a Marriage & Family Therapist. I earned three national certifications:

• National Certified Counselor (NCC)
• Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC)
• Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS)

Working in both public & private practice has shaped my professional development. I enjoy working with

• Adolescents from 16+
• Adults of all ages
• Lesbians/gays in individual therapy
• Couples therapy
• Family therapy sessions

I specialize in working with individuals diagnosed with eating disorders, i.e.

• Anorexia nervosa (AN)
• Bulimia nervosa (BN)
• Binge eating disorder (BED)
• Eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS)

Approximately, 60% of my caseload is made up of individuals who have been diagnosed with various forms of eating disorders. Each year over 10 million females are touched by eating disorders, as are one million males. Eating Disorders are never about food they are influenced by

• Biological
• Psychological
• Sociological issues

Eating Disorders are refractory in nature and are considered serious mental health illnesses, as they not only change one’s emotional / mental / cognitive abilities, they can also cause serious physiological damage to the internal systems within the body and if left ignored or undetected, they can cause death. Therefore, treatment must utilize a multi-discipline approach when working with this diagnosis, e.g.,

• Nutritionist
• Physician
• Psychiatrist

Outpatient treatment may take a while for those with an eating disorder diagnosis (from two to seven years, according to the Academy of Eating Disorders) before recovery is attained—thus more reason to have the shared feedback from the team that serves each individual. I use various theories to work on eliminating eating disorders, e.g.,

• CBT
• DBT
• ACT
• Narrative
• TA

Other Areas of Interest :

Other treatment specialties that I have experience working in include problems created by

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Sexual abuse issues
• PTSD
• OCD
• Co-dependency issues
• Anger management problems
• Relationship issues with all couples (straight or gay)

Most recently, I have had the pleasure to branch out into learning what I can therapeutically to assist individuals who suffer with gender identity issues, as this is a population that goes greatly undetected and under-served.