I have been an Occupational Therapist for over 20 years. For most of that time, I worked as a Case Manager with individuals who were involved in severe motor vehicle accidents, sustaining permanent impairments, including traumatic brain injuries, as well as severe mental health struggles (mainly anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). This work allowed me to develop impactful therapeutic relationships with my clients, their families and care teams. It also taught me so much about resilience, redefining one’s identity after a life changing accident, and how deeply the body, mind, and emotions are connected.

In 2018, I found myself struggling with my own food and body issues — looking back now, it may have actually been the start of my perimenopausal journey, although I didn’t realize it at the time. These challenges led me to become certified as an Eating Psychology/Mind Body Eating Coach through the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, and help other women manage their emotional and binge eating, and body image struggles.

Over time, through my own life experiences and ongoing personal work, I realized I wanted to be able to go deeper in my work — to be able to sit with women in midlife and help them through the fuller complexity of what they are carrying, whether food and body image are part of their struggles, or all of the other issues that might be coming up in this stage of life — redefining their identity, managing emotions, relationships, and really the whole picture of who they are.

This is what led me to Psychotherapy, and to further training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS), approaches that allow me to meet women exactly where they are, with compassion, empathy, and without judgment.

I bring all of it to this work now — over two decades of clinical experience, my own lived experience in midlife in real time, and training in current Psychotherapy modalities.