Offering online trauma therapy in Cedar Rapids, IA.

My entire life I knew I wanted to be a trauma therapist.

In fact, I remember being very young and explaining that "some people don't have anyone who to talk to and I want to be that person for them. A person that can offer non-judgmental support and help them". So, I worked hard to reach that dream: 

• ​I graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Iowa.

• I attended the University of Iowa's School of Social Work and obtained my MSW. There, I was given foundational tools to become the counselor I am today.

• One particular experience that absolutely helped in forming the person I am, professionally and personally, was completing my first year practicum at RVAP (Rape Victim Advocacy Program) in Iowa City, IA. RVAP was the local sexual violence crisis center that served both the community and students by providing sexual violence prevention, education, and treatment . There, I learned that I not only wanted to continue exploring ways of being supportive of all clients; but I also wanted to specialize in trauma treatment and working with survivors.

For me, working with survivors is empowering, healing, restorative, and invaluable. However, the most powerful of it all, for me, is getting to see the transformation in clients through the journey to healing. As you can probably guess already, that's where the name of my practice comes from!

After completing that initial practicum at RVAP, I stayed connected to the work by becoming a staff member, offering educational opportunities, participating in volunteer training, hosting awareness events, and overall expanding the impact of my commitment to culture change and sexual violence prevention.

• Soon after, I moved to Wisconsin where I worked for the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a Survivor Services Specialist for the students' mental health center serving all students impacted by sexual, dating and domestic violence, stalking and sexual harassment. I owe most of my formation as a provider to UW.

They challenged me to dig deep and explore creative, effective. and evidence-based treatments to support the students we served. That's where I started to expand my toolbox of treatment modalities to:

• Internal Family Systems (IFS)

• Somatic Experiencing (SE)

• and got trained on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

• Later, I became an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Specialist for the City of Madison, WI. Once again, the work was transformational because I learned about the complexities and intricacies of working with first responders, in particular law enforcement and fire fighters. I was lucky to become part of a supportive, effective, and knowledgeable team that fostered my growth and helped me expand my understanding of trauma as it relates to the workplace and our professions.

• Now, back in Iowa, I work in healthcare supporting employees through the challenges of being a healthcare worker including the impact of the pandemic.