Have you ever looked for a long while at a nucella lamellosa (a Puget Sound shellfish), watching it spiral into the center of itself, letting you see part of the way in, but not all of the way? I remember scouring the beach as a child for moon snail shells, wriggling eels, wishing rocks, dried kelp bulbs, jelly fish, sand dollars, lightning-quick crabs and bendable sea anemones. The sea was generous with me and it owed me nothing. In those years of play and immersion, I became familiar with the beach's terrain, the rhythm and constancy of the changing tides, and as I heaved large barnacled rocks to their sides, I remember the anticipation of discovering creatures that had lay hidden right in front of me. The way I knew to be with the sea - being present, appreciating it, playing in it, and being endlessly curious about it deeply informs the way I want to live.

I have always been drawn to intimate spaces - internal emotional landscapes, connection between people, and interactions with the natural world.

Before becoming a psychotherapist, I was involved in non-profit mentoring, leading groups of college students to consider what was important to them and how to cultivate deeper connection with their friends. Later I became a wedding photographer and was awed at "small" other-worldly moments I witnessed between people. One of those moments was when a father began sobbing upon seeing his daughter waiting for him; when her eyes caught his, I remember how her face softened, her eyes filling with tears. Emotionally they were so staggeringly close. It was pure and deep and cracked me so open. I documented the openness and personal revealing as it occurred between people, as well as the frustrations, anxieties and complexity of tension-filled moments. I called what I did "giving beauty back to Beauty," meaning I saw those raw, tender moments between people, felt gratitude for being a witness to intimacy, and gave them back so that my clients could see themselves at a deeper level and remember those moments.

I became a birth doula and birth photographer after going through the process of pregnancy, labor, birth and early mothering myself and becoming utterly enthralled with the entire process. These moments of intimacy called to me. I encouraged laboring women to relax and open to their own deep reserves of strength, bodily wisdom, creativity and determination. It was incredible work! I experienced the births that I attended as holy, sacred, raw, powerful and so deeply beautiful. I remember working to cultivate connection between partners (if there was one) during the process, helping partners get close and touch, if that felt good to the mama, and helping them write this part of their story as one of presence.

It felt rather natural to go from the birthing space to pursuing my Masters of Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. During my final year as a student, I worked at Seattle Counseling Service with clients who identified as belonging to the LGBTQIA community. I witnessed my clients as they navigated their lives through systemic layers of oppression where their skin color, expressed or internal gender, and sexual minority status was used against them in so many ways. My clients had incredible strength, and I will forever be grateful to them for allowing me to hear their stories and for being open to me shaping them.

I have now come to realize that in all of my previous work, as an artist, photographer, birth doula, and now as a psychotherapist, I am helping cultivate moments of intimacy. And I love that privilege.

Couples counseling involves addressing the dynamics in your relationship, seeing how each partner has contributed to unproductive, painful interactions, and taking a deeper look at yourselves as individuals.

Couples come into counseling often because they feel stuck, dissatisfied, . Some couples come in because they want a more satisfying, connecting marriage.

Are you or your partner/spouse emotionally distant?
Do you feel lonely and like you have lost connection with yourself and/or your partner/spouse?
Are your fights unproductive and you and your partner/spouse end up feeling worse?
Has an affair occurred?
Do you feel limited in what you can share with your spouse: how you're feeling, what you're thinking, and what you're wanting?

GROWING SEXUAL CONNECTION

Sex therapy is for individuals as well as couples and focuses on enhancing one's capacity for intimacy, risking being known, and acting from a place of personal strength. Sex therapy often addresses issues of desire, such as lack of desire, desire discrepancy, and changing desire. Sexual dysfunctions that can often benefit from sex therapy include, but are not limited to: Premature ejaculation, orgasmic difficulties, delayed ejaculation, low sexual desire, erectile dysfunction, vaginismus, olfactory revulsion.

INFERTILITY & PREGNANCY LOSS: As a former birth doula, I have sat with women and couples who have faced stillbirth, SIDS, infertility, miscarriage, and deep losses because their children were either not conceived or died. I bring this breadth of experience and presence to my clients who are living with these long-term places of grief.

FERTILITY, PREGNANCY & TRANSITION TO CHILDREN:

How am I with my body?
How will my partner respond to me as a parent and lover?
How am I responding to myself?
What do I need to support me through this time?
Is there anything I need to do to mark this time of transition?
How do I stay connected to my partner right now?

TRANSITION TO MOTHERING & MOTHERING THE MOTHER

FERTILITY, PREGNANCY & TRANSITION TO CHILDREN:

How am I with my body?
How will my partner respond to me as a parent and lover?
How am I responding to myself?
What do I need to support me through this time?
Is there anything I need to do to mark this time of transition?
How do I stay connected to my partner right now?
NAVIGATING CONNECTION & CULTIVATING LIFE WITH CHILDRENHow can I set limits for my children and tolerate their discomfort?
What do each of my particular children need to be confident adults capable of healthy relationships?
My partner is undermining my ability to parent. What should I do?
My partner and I have no time to connect.
Our sex life is basically non-existent, and when it does happen, it's unsatisfying.
Is this really just a stage where we have to plow through and make contact on the other side?

Extras