Member since January 2020
A summa cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University, I hold a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling. I have always specialized in crisis intervention for victims of interpersonal violence. More rectly, I have have shifted the focus of my work to Trauma and Addiction.
I received my certification as a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist (Associate) in 2019 and am currently pursuing the NC Licensed Professional Counselor certification as well. In a clinical sense I hope to work with those clients trying to overcome addictive behaviors by confronting a debilitating trauma history.
I currently facilitate continuing education workshops on Trauma and Addiction, experiential therapies, evidence-based practice, and interpersonal violence awareness.
I enjoy speaking to audiences of any size or speciality who wish to understand that addiction is not what we have thought it to be. I have spent years researching and walking through a personal journey to heal a painful trauma history. This search has led me to a greater understanding that Trauma is at the heart of not only addiction, but also poor health, pain, and mental illness.
My passion lies in spreading the message that asks "what happened to you" versus "what is wrong with you?". I believe we have spent decades misdiagnosing mental illness that truly lies in unresolved trauma. Post traumatic Stress is not a mental disorder but rather a mental injury. Injuries can be healed and so can traumatic histories.
I spiraled for many years with addictive behaviors and self-destructive actions, thinking I was just a weak, worthless soul. Then I read my first book on trauma and it felt like the kid who gets glasses and sees there are actually individual leaves on the tree. I finally came to understand that I wasn't a bad person, I am an injured person looking for a way to survive. Learning this lesson helped me to see the world and those in it in a very different light. I was able to forgive myself for the things I did in search of pain relief as well as ask forgiveness of my loved ones. Today, I am still in recovery from trauma but I understand that my struggle has a source and that gives me hope.
After working in corporate settings for many years I decided to open my own business and bought a small retail store. Though feeling very passionate about it I wasn't happy and wasn't doing well personally. I never understood why and searched high and low for answers. I entered into therapy and found my calling as well.
I returned to graduate school to pursue a Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling. After graduating I was working in crisis intervention with victims of interpersonal violence. I loved the work but felt like I was drowning. I took a very big leap and began to do my own trauma work, researching every aspect I could on theories and modalities. Finally, I committed wholeheartedly to my trauma recovery. I have seen first hand the ravages of unresolved trauma on healthy functioning and wellness. I found a community of people that were willing to face what had happened to them and how to finally move past it.
Today, I am willing to share my story to help others struggling with mental illness, chronic pain, addiction recovery, or just life in general. I want to help practitioners see the trauma story underlying any clinical presentation of symptoms.
I spiraled for many years with addictive behaviors and self-destructive actions, thinking I was just a weak, worthless soul. Then I read my first book on trauma and it felt like the kid who gets glasses and sees there are actually individual leaves on the tree. I finally came to understand that I wasn't a bad person, I am an injured person looking for a way to survive. Learning this lesson helped me to see the world and those in it in a very different light. I was able to forgive myself for the things I did in search of pain relief as well as ask forgiveness of my loved ones. Today, I am still in recovery from trauma but I understand that my struggle has a source and that gives me hope.
After working in corporate settings for many years I decided to open my own business and bought a small retail store. Though feeling very passionate about it I wasn't happy and wasn't doing well personally. I never understood why and searched high and low for answers. I entered into therapy and found my calling as well.
I returned to graduate school to pursue a Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling. After graduating I was working in crisis intervention with victims of interpersonal violence. I loved the work but felt like I was drowning. I took a very big leap and began to do my own trauma work, researching every aspect I could on theories and modalities. Finally, I committed wholeheartedly to my trauma recovery. I have seen first hand the ravages of unresolved trauma on healthy functioning and wellness. I found a community of people that were willing to face what had happened to them and how to finally move past it.
Today, I am willing to share my story to help others struggling with mental illness, chronic pain, addiction recovery, or just life in general. I want to help practitioners see the trauma story underlying any clinical presentation of symptoms.