My background.

I’m from Michigan, where I got my Bachelors of Social Work in 2005 from Siena Heights University. In college, I was a dual sport athlete, a youth mentor, a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club, and was an intern at a local foster care agency. For my final senior project, I spent time at a local facility for adjudicated adolescent females and focused my efforts on advocating for the improvement of their care during incarceration.

I attended Barry University in Miami, Florida where I received my Masters of Social Work in 2006. While in graduate school, I worked with hurricane Wilma survivors, many who were displaced from their homes and living in FEMA trailers. I provided crisis counseling, ran support groups for children/families, and connected people to the resources they needed to rebuild their lives after the devestation of a natural disaster.

For the next several years of my career in south Florida, I worked in community mental health as youth and family therapist in home based and crisis programs. I was also a research therapist in a published study by the University of South Florida (USF) Tampa St Pete, which created a computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy program for children severe panic and anxiety disorders.

In 2012, I made the move to Colorado to provide therapy care for adults struggling with various severe mental health and addiction issues. I was apart of a trauma informed care initiative that helped to improve access to quality mental health care in Colorado.

I returned to Michigan to work in hospice care in the Detroit metro area in 2015. I provided care for individuals and families navigating end-of-life issues, chronic pain, disease process, and grief/loss. I spent a lot of time working in homes, hospitals, nursing homes, independent living facilities, group homes, memory care units throughout the communities of Detroit and metro Detroit. I received the Rising Star award in 2016 for my social work efforts. I especially enjoyed my time coordinating with the local VA and serving our veterans.

In 2019, I began working in Arizona at a holisitic collaborative clinic providing therapy for those struggling with chronic pain, addiction, and complex trauma. When COVID impacted our community, I helped shift in-person therapy care to a virtual care by running a telehealth based IOP treatment program. I also became involved in helping those impacted by the opioid epidemic by collaborating in building a new program at a major hospital system in Phoenix that helped provide treatment for pregnant women who struggled with alcohol and substance use.

In these latter years of my career, I opened my private practice Switchback Therapy and Consulting in Arizona. I really enjoy private practice and providing consultation for other therapists. I embrace the opportunities to cheer on my colleagues and support the development of their projects. It is now 2026, which means that this is my 20th year working as a therapist! I am grateful for this career and thankful to have been able to serve others in such a unique way throughout all of these years.