Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and what I do. I feel deeply grateful to be in this field and for the rare opportunity it has given me to become the kind of adult I once needed. My approach is shaped by my lived experience as a person with a rare skeletal dysplasia, pseudoachondroplasia, and by the ways disability has informed my identity, sense of community, creative practice, and mental health. Having personally navigated medical systems, surgical trauma, chronic pain, accessibility barriers, and social stigma, I have long been struck by how little attention healthcare systems give to the psychological and emotional wellbeing of the disability community, despite how stressful, complex, and often traumatic these experiences can be.

I began my own therapy journey in my early twenties, and from this important work, I realized how much I had suppressed just to get through daily life and how much language I lacked to make sense of my experiences. Through therapy, the frameworks of disability studies, and connection with disability communities and advocates, I began to find meaning in what I had carried for so long. Art-making was also a vital tool in this process, offering a way to express what words alone could not and to engage with my disability as a site of creativity and wisdom. All of these experiences eventually drew me to the field of art therapy, where I could combine clinical practice with creative expression to support others in exploring, understanding, and expressing their own experiences in a safe and empowering space. You can scroll down to explore a selection of my artwork to get a feel for my own artistic process which often pulls from my embodiment and experiences as inspiration.

I started my private practice in 2023 after more than a decade of work in human services across education, hospital, community mental health, and group private practice settings. Throughout this site, you can learn more about my counseling and art therapy work, as well as my consulting, training, speaking, and workshops for professionals, organizations, and communities. Across these roles, my overall goal is to support both individuals and systems in addressing the mental and emotional wellbeing of people navigating disability, chronic illness, and rare conditions.

In addition to my practice, I am a part-time faculty member in the Department of Art Therapy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an advisory board member of the Chicago Community Trust Disabilities Affinity Fund, and sit on the Board of Directors for the Little Legs Big Heart Foundation.

Outside of work, I am a proud dog mom to Henry, am married to an impassioned media historian, and love thrifting, traveling, swimming, and exploring the beautiful city of Chicago.