A little about me.
I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia to two former hippies. I'm a very type B person and enjoy living in the moment. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) at 12 years old. I didn't really know it affected me. It just was what it was. I also never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. One thing led me to another. I took a psychology course in high school and was a natural at it. I attended the College of Charleston for undergrad, where I met my now husband. We lived apart for 3 years while in graduate school and graduated on the same day in 2014. We moved in together that summer and live in Sandy Springs, GA. We have two children, a dog, love nature, music, reading, spirituality and spending time with family and friends. I enjoy any and all mental and physical health activity. You name it, I'm a fan. Yoga? Sound baths? Count me in. I'm a very creative person, lover of the arts and express myself through painting, singing, movement and deep conversations about life, death and all things in between. I'm a T1D advocate, volunteer at Camp Kudzu, a non-profit organization for children with T1D in Georgia and enjoy walking and riding for a cure with Breakthrough T1D. I enjoy learning new things and attend a monthly support group at Atlanta Diabetes Associates.
My Story
I majored in psychology in college and took a year off before attending graduate school. I spent the year as an intern for Georgia State University's Center for Healthy Development in the mornings and as a nanny in the afternoons. Thanks to my internship experience, I decided to apply for and was accepted to the University of Georgia's School of Social Work. My plan was to attend their dual masters program with the School of Public Health. The day before I left for graduate school, the family I cared for, let me know that they were getting a divorce. I didn't realize how much that would impact me in my career trajectory. I spent that evening listening to the mother share her thoughts and feelings. It felt natural to me. The next day, I moved to Athens, GA. I was inspired by the Marriage and Family Therapy Certificate Chairperson and decided to pursue clinical social work and focus on direct practice. While I'm still very passionate about public health, my true enjoyment is direct practice, where I can support a person's emotional processing, build awareness of systemic parts, identify core beliefs and somatic experiences. I love to teach emotion regulation, help people become more interpersonally effective and improve the quality of their relationships. I personally find joy when I hear clients tell me that they act according to their own values, make healthy choices, set better boundaries and communicate assertively with others. I also find joy in their ability to show themselves compassion, when they have not yet accomplished this.
Around the time my first child was born in 2018, Atlanta Diabetes Associates asked if they could refer diabetes patients to me for counseling, realizing that management is often more mental and behavioral than just numbers. I said yes. I had no idea what this would mean for my career trajectory either. Here I sit today, writing about this experience, with the realization that I am deeply energized by working with people living with Type 1 Diabetes. Since then, I've attended countless support groups, spoken at conferences for Breakthrough T1D, Certified Diabetes Educators of Georgia, Diabetes + Mental Health and volunteered at, spoken for and educated parents and children at Camp Kudzu, a camp for children with T1D in Georgia. It is my most authentic self when I can be in community with others who understand, support and feel what it is to live with this illness.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.
