What is your favorite movie: ‘Children of Men’ – beautiful, hopeful, tragic, & haunting.
…But can I also say TV shows? Succession or Handmaid’s Tale
…Or books? ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy or ‘The World to Come’ by Dara Horn

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Favorite superhero: I had a mad crush on Christopher Reeves’ Superman as a kiddo. But favorite now? Black Widow - I love Russian history, ballet, and confident strong women – so, she fits the bill! Or, oh wait, maybe the 1997-Gwen-Stefani-soundtracked-strong-woman-fighter-pilot Captain Marvel. Okay, both.

 

If you could have a superpower, what superpower would you pick: I would love to have the ability to speak any language. But more in the true ‘superpower’ category - probably teleportation – it would REALLY help with school dropoff & pickup and all the activities (and I could travel and use my language super power!).

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Favorite bands/singer: My 10-year-old daughter is an incredible musician, so I love her – and recently we’ve been listening to a whole lot of things: Jax, Lady Gaga, Adele, Paramore, & Jack White. But all-time, long-time?  Eminem.

 

If you had 3 wishes, what would you wish for:  For our incarceration system to be completely overhauled – trauma- focused treatment, vocational training, true reintegration.

For endless, bottomless patience – with my kids, my spouse, my laundry, I-10 construction…

To have a personal chef plan for, shop for, and cook everything all the time

 

What is your favorite food? A good Monte Cristo sandwich

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What are you most passionate about in the mental health field? High quality & ACCESSIBLE Perinatal Mental Healthcare.. Accurate screenings and appropriate 1) Autism Spectrum Disorder and 2) ADHD diagnoses in girls and adult women

 

What are some experiences you have had that make you unique?

-My original career path was education - I was a high school history teacher.  I quickly realized that I didn’t really want to do that forever (really kind of knew even in college – but I much preferred reading, writing, and studying abroad to early morning lab class for my pre-med/physical therapist dreams), so after teaching for 5 years and growing up a little bit, pursued nursing school.

-I studied abroad in Russia for a semester in college.

-I have been a Labor & Delivery Nurse for the last 10 years and LOVE it.

 

What is your philosophy on using medication to treat mental health? Are medications lifelong? Does a patient who sees you HAVE to be on medication? Psychiatric medications can be life-saving scaffolding in the journey to managing your mental health.  Sometimes they are a lifelong; sometimes they are a situation- or life-season- specific – but you are completely in control of that long-term plan and it will always be an ongoing discussion.  I am a huge advocate of integrating non-medication tools into your toolbox– self-awareness, routine, practical life changes, sunlight, activity, community, and self-compassion (the list goes on)  can be small-but-huge steps to transformation.  Sometimes medication can be the step to take in order to be able to build in life management skills.  As your provider, I will always make sure you are fully educated about medication choices as well as talking you through non-medication management techniques!

 

If a patient is nervous about an evaluation, especially when talking about tough things like trauma or sexual abuse, what would you want them to know? You are not at fault for what happened to you.  And I believe you.  You didn’t deserve it – and there are absolutely no exceptions.  You. Didn’t. Deserve. It. And. It. Was. Not. Your. Fault.  We can talk about it when and if you are ever ready.  Or I can help find the perfect people to help you process it if and when you are ready.  There is no pressure or judgement.

 

What kind of therapy do you offer? Cognitive Behavior Therapy (changing your thoughts in order to change your feelings)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (changing your habits and thoughts in order to increase your stress tolerance)

Internal Family Systems (working through your feelings as though they are different parts of you – different individuals in a family sitting in the ‘living room’ of your brain – ‘who’ is showing up in this or that situation, how did they come to be, and how is it working for you?)

 

Do you have any personal experiences regarding mental health you are open to sharing?

With each of my pregnancies and children, I struggled with varying degrees of depression, anxiety, OCD, and psychosis.  The huge gap in care was mind boggling to me – and started my passion to transform the perinatal mental health field. As an adult I was diagnosed with ADHD and (very recently) Autism Spectrum Disorder – making so many things about my life make so much more sense and transformed my ability to manage life.

 

How do you feel about medical marijuana?  Pro - I think it can have fantastic benefits for certain things, but definitely will always talk to you about how it is impacting you and your treatment/management.

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Tell us about your pets: Moby – our all-white, 11-year-old, chilliest cat on the block.

Marlow – our new (5 months old in November) Bernedoodle puppy.  So fun and funny and naughty as all get out.

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What are your thoughts about treating adult ADHD? I think it is tragically underdiagnosed!  Undiagnosed neurodivergence is a huge risk factor for depression & anxiety. If you weren’t an always-talking-out-of-turn, always-in-trouble, can’t-stay-in-your-seat, six-year-old white boy, you can’t possibly have ADHD.  Right?  Sigh.  What if you were a people-pleasing rule-following girl who did great in school but put EvErYtHiNg off ‘til the last minute and now, as an adult, CaNnOt manage your laundry or kid-pick up schedules or ever quiet your brain enough to nap?  Or you found that drugs or alcohol were the only way to quiet your brain or manage your anxiety?  There are so many factors at play with mental health - I will always consider ADHD or ASD diagnostic criteria during an initial evaluation, and will make sure you feel clear on the risks and benefits all of the options – medication and non-medication.

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Tell us one fun fact about yourself: As a 6th grader, I wrote a musical about the History of Ancient Egypt.  I was also the sole cast and audience member.

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