Summary
Hello! I am a licensed psychologist at the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno Counseling Services (CS), specializing in treating eating disorders and trauma. My approach emphasizes psychological wellness through a compassionate, feminist-multicultural lens, informed by extensive experience and a warm, direct, and authentic style
I received my doctorate in Counseling Psychology at West Virginia University, and my training as a generalist enables me to effectively address a wide range of concerns. I integrate evidence-based therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)/Radically-Open DBT (RO-DBT), interpersonal therapies, and trauma-informed therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I tailor therapeutic approaches to each student's unique needs in individual or group settings, emphasizing healing within the contexts of relationships, communities, identities, and systems of power and oppression.
My experiences and trainings provide me with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in trauma and disordered eating. Previously, I was a part of the Eating Disorders Treatment Team at Colorado State University and later co-created the Disordered Eating Support and Referral Vehicle (DESRV) at the University of Utah Counseling Center. Currently, as the Coordinator of CS’s Eating Disorder Intervention Track (EDIT), I collaborate closely with experts at the Student Health Center on the Eating Disorder Treatment Team, including Dr. Cheryl Hug-English and Senior Nutritionist, Renee Bauer. Together, we address the psychological, medical, and nutritional needs of students with disordered eating, while fostering an inclusive and supportive community on campus. I believe strongly that eating disorders are a social justice issue, and that treatment should be accessible and grounded in ideologies of liberation and empowerment.
As a trainer and supervisor, I employ an integrative, multicultural-feminist-informed approach, focusing on the "person-of-the-therapist." I work collaboratively to enhance clinicians’ awareness of their sociocultural selves and to critically examine systems of power and privilege affecting therapeutic work. I believe in earning the trust of supervisees and strive to model professional ethics, cultural humility, authenticity, autonomy, humor, and a passion for learning. I empower supervisees to actively shape, lead, and evaluate their training experiences. On a more personal note, I love engaging with all forms of art, especially critical analyses of pop culture, outsider art, fiction/fantasy books, street fashion, varied musical genres and so many movies/tv shows. I am always up for a piece of homemade pie, a long walk with my headphones in the evening, and finding delight in everyday experiences.