Returning to school later in life, counseling became a second career for me. I obtained my Master of Arts from Argosy University Dallas and have been practicing as a Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor for 20 years. I am the author of Ready to Talk: A Companion Guide to psychotherapy. After witnessing the pain caused to so many families during the process of traditional divorce, I became trained in family law mediation, parent coordinating, and collaborative divorce in order to provide a kinder, more thoughtful option for families going through divorce. The focus of my practice is with individuals and couples considering divorce or in the process of divorcing, and co-parents.
I provide individuals and couples who want to end their marriage with a process that will allow them to transition their family with a minimal amount of damage, emotionally. It’s not just the loss of relationship that damages people but the degree of conflict that happens in the divorce which causes the most damage. I coach and help couples understand the complexities of the divorce process, create a parenting plan that keeps their children front and enter, and helps individuals bring their best selves to the process.
When preparing for divorce, clients often bring strong emotions to the process, which can interfere with the productive resolution of issues. People want to be heard. It’s the reason why so many people say, “I just want my day in court.” Therapists are trained to closely follow a client’s narrative and listen to their stories. Therefore, skills I bring to the process make it less likely that I as the mediator will become impatient with a disputant’s pace or attempt to rush the process. Moreover, I as a therapist am trained to simultaneously attend to content and process of communication during mediation. The pain that people experience during divorce usually has more to do with the inherent adversarial nature of a traditional divorce, rather than the loss of the relationship.
My style is open, gentle and respectful, but direct. I assume my clients come to work with me because they are looking for help in changing something that is no longer working for them in their lives. However, conscious and sometimes unconscious resistance to change needs to be gently but directly confronted. Growing ourselves up isn’t always an easy or painless process, but it is one that is necessary for happy, joyful, meaningful relationships.
In 2011 I founded Insights Collaborative Therapy Group in Dallas, Texas which merged my talent for business development and management with my psychotherapeutic skills. Insights is a highly-respected professional practice providing comprehensive collaborative theraputic services as well as a place to mentor and give opportunity for newer therapists just beginning their journey. Today I am one of four partners and continue to see therapy and mediation clients at Insights.