What inspired you to become a psychotherapist?

I realized I wanted to become a psychotherapist my first year of my college. Although my whole life journey had prepared me for this career, I had experienced five years of cyclical depression and wanted to help people find relief faster than I had. While antidepressants—of which I had tried multiple—supported me in continuing my fast-paced existence, I knew there had to be a more sustainable approach. My first psychedelic experience opened up my world: I realized that my limited mindset had kept me from seeing my personal agency in creating my own path. I played with moving towards and away from traditional talk therapy, but as I continued to return to my inner knowing, I found that offering standard psychotherapy does not light me up.

As I sat through a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat, I uncovered a build-up of unprocessed energy that lived in my body as fear, anger, and grief. After this experience, I felt the pain that had existed for over a decade and had no one to help me understand how to process it. I learned that due to my relationship with my body and this trauma, I needed a more liberating container to hold my spirit as I processed this great force of vibrating energy. As I flailed through many painful months, the universe guided me to dance/movement therapy, and I learned the necessity of creative expression for my healing. This journey motivated me to become a client-centered, trauma-informed, social-justice oriented, expressive arts, body-based therapist. This work is not just a career for me; it is my soul’s purpose. I am passionate about supporting my clients as they dance through the waves of their life and become more aligned with their truest essence.