Appalachian Life Enrichment Counseling Center

Born and raised in California, I met the man of dreams at a square dance and we have been dancing through life for over 35 years.  During that time, we have also lived in Colorado, Japan, Iowa and Arizona with more short moves than I can count.  We have 3 adult daughters and 6 grandchildren.  In my life before children, I was a payroll tax specialist.  Once the girls came along, I spent 25 years educating them at home and working different part-time jobs to challenge myself.  I have been a gate agent for airlines, loaded packages on an airplane for a major shipping company, prepared income tax and worked at 3 different churches doing everything from decorating to grief counseling.  I was at a transitional point in my life when I decided to pursue counseling and I haven’t looked back!

If you had told me 10 years ago that I’d be a counselor, I would have laughed at you.  That’s because the only approaches I knew in the field of psychology focused on disease, diagnosis and treating symptoms.  When I stumbled down this path, I learned about something called positive psychology and it piqued my interest.  I also began to learn about the effects trauma can have on people’s lives even if they think they have moved on.  There were two major shifts in thinking for me.  First, what if we build on strengths rather than weaknesses?  Second, what if we stopped asking what’s wrong with you and started asking what happened to you?  These two shifts continue to influence my approach to counseling and how I look at people.

While I was working on my master’s degree, I was doing additional training in trauma for an organization that deploys after natural and manmade disasters.  I have deployed to Beirut to help teach Syrian clinicians’ techniques to diffuse PTSD symptoms, Paradise, California after the wildfire and to Puerto Rico to help with compassion fatigue after hurricanes.  I also did a trauma internship in Romania.  I also teach classes on compassion fatigue and other topics related to recovering from a disaster to first responders, clinicians and community members. 

I love to make things and organize chaos.  Recently, I’ve been playing with my Cricut and crocheting a temperature afghan, but I’ll try almost any craft.  Having met my husband dancing, this has been an important part of our lives.  We both started square dancing at 12 years old and over the years we have added ballroom styles and West Coast Swing to our repertoire.  I’m a lifelong learner, so I’m always reading a book or watching a video.  I can be packed for a weeklong trip in less than an hour.  Whether it’s a visit to family, taking in the sights or deploying after a disaster, I’m in!  Have passport, will travel!