I accompany people as they explore themselves and seek to enrich life.

I believe that not-knowing is a wise place to begin, and to end, and that the only real knowing happens here in the present moment, and that meeting the present moment with compassionate awareness makes life more wonderful over time. This is a real skill which can be learned and practiced.

When I work with people, I practice deep listening. I listen with my heart, which means that I try to really feel with the person and to truly understand their experience. From this place of understanding, I seek to join them in the pain, and the joy, and together we cultivate a way of being which is empowered, compassionate, and in wise relationship to the difficulty of life, open to the joy of life.

It is my experience that when two or more humans connect in this way, we are naturally guided to discover and nourish beautiful capacities that already exist within us. From this place of connection, we naturally learn to speak and act with greater authenticity, in a way that continually connects us to life and allows us to more and more freely and effectively deal with the challenges we face, seeing in each of them an opportunity to learn and grow—a gift.

___

My Background

I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. I currently reside with my partner and our two dogs in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about an hour south of San Francisco in a town called La Honda.

I am a graduate of California Institute of Integral Studies where I received a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology, and I am currently an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (Lic. # 141680).

I formerly worked in schools as a teacher and then went on to do crisis counseling with teens.

Over the last decade, I’ve spent about 18 months on silent meditation retreat, mostly practicing vipassana and zen, cultivating compassionate awareness of what is happening internally and externally from moment to moment.

I’ve spent a lot of time in therapy myself, where I have undergone, and continue to undergo, an apprenticeship with pain and with joy.

These days, I am enjoying cold water plunging, rock climbing with friends, growing a community, and enjoying the beauty of nature around my home.