Overview

Being a professor of counseling students is an honor that I do not take lightly. I take teaching graduate level students to become counselors very seriously and thus I realize that I am an instrumental component to laying down a clinical framework and fostering personal reflective growth for the wellbeing of future clients. When I reflect upon my own academic training, it was the personal and reflective growth that led to significant changes including empathic understanding, greater acceptance of myself and others, and a broadening of my world view. Thus, my teaching philosophy is to aid the developing clinician to lead a rewarding career and to serve those in need of mental health services.

My educational training has included a variety of fields, culinary arts, psychology, and visual arts. I have been a student for so many years that learning has become a part of my nature. It is through the process of learning that I have been able to continue to develop my clinical skills and define my own level of excellence. Thus, a goal of mine is to continue evolving in literature and integrating the various aspects of my training. It is my hope to further advance the psychological field by considering the impact that food has on mental health and overall well-being. In addition, I am passionate about underserved populations and bringing that research into the classroom is essential as it allows further reach into this population.

I am interested in the field’s developing exploration on the effect that trauma has on the body. This body of research provides the clinician with a deeper understanding of the client’s struggles and thereby aids the therapist with new treatment interventions. I am also interested in attachment theory and incorporate the theory as a foundation for clinical work with the clients that I serve in efforts to promote healing. Lastly, I am a Christian therapist and thus I enjoy providing a space for Christian students to grow in this field where they are often a minority.

Please email or call me 312.662.4323 if you have questions or would like more information about me.