Most people come to therapy wanting relief. That is a good place to start. But over 25 years, I have seen that relief without understanding is temporary.
Real change happens when you get to the bottom of what is going on inside you and begin to see yourself, your relationships, and your circumstances with new eyes. That is what honest therapy does. It does not manage you. It invites you into a different kind of seeing.
When I sit with someone, my goal is not just to help you feel better in the moment. It is to help you understand yourself well enough that you become your own therapist and carry that clarity long after our work together ends.
My training is psychodynamic and relational, which means I believe the patterns that shape your present were formed somewhere – and that understanding gives you power over them. But insight alone is not enough. I also draw on solution-focused approaches, because healing that does not move into action and daily life is not quite finished.
In our work together, you can expect both. We will look underneath. And we will build.
I have worked in hospitals, outpatient programs, and community mental health settings before moving into private practice. That range has made me a better clinician. I have seen how anxiety and depression function across severity levels. I have walked with people through trauma, grief, domestic abuse, spiritual crisis, and the kind of loss that reshapes a life.
I also lead community-based anxiety and depression recovery groups and have spent years teaching and supervising students and pre-licensed therapists. That work keeps me sharp. When you explain something clearly enough to teach it, you understand it at a different depth.
What makes True North Therapy different is not just the approach. It is the foundation underneath the approach. As a Christian, I believe that real grace and healing come from God. That conviction does not mean I push faith on anyone. It means I bring a whole-person understanding to the room, where mental, physical, and spiritual dimensions are not separated but held together the way they actually are in a person’s life.
For clients who share a Christian worldview, I offer therapy where that worldview need not be hidden, explained, or set aside. For clients who are still working out what they believe, there is room here, too. What I offer is a framework where we can talk about all of it.
For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn toward people in hard seasons. I studied psychology at Pacific Union College in Angwin, California, and went on to earn my master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Smith’s program emphasized a psychodynamic relational approach, which has been central to how I work ever since.
I am a Gen-X wife and the mother of a teenager. More than a few hard seasons of my own make it possible for me to sit with yours without flinching. Twenty-five years of clinical experience across hospital settings, outpatient programs, community mental health, and private practice have shaped the way I work.
I am licensed as a clinical social worker in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. True North Therapy serves clients in all three states via secure online sessions.
In my downtime, I love refurbishing old furniture, gardening, and hiking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
If you have been carrying something for a while and are ready to go beneath the surface, I would be glad to meet you there. Reach out to schedule a free consultation, and we can figure out together whether True North Therapy is the right fit for you.