I am an Austin-based psychotherapist and fitness professional working with clients throughout Texas to heal their relationship with their bodies. Certified by the American Council on Exercise, I assist people in releasing frustration with themselves to find peace, energy, and satisfaction in life.
Clients tell me that their lives have become more fulfilling than they knew they could be.
During and after college in St. Louis, I taught dance and group exercise, making use of my BFA in Dance from Webster University. My clients who wanted to “get in shape” quickly showed me how many other factors affected the way their bodies worked. Feelings, thoughts, and relationships affected how clients moved. On a very basic level, if one of my students was up late the night before, arguing with a spouse, she had less energy in our fitness class. Due to anxiety about traffic on the way to the gym, a personal training client might feel more energy and increase his workout intensity. These emotional, mental, and relational factors also affected how clients felt about their bodies. Fascinated with this deeper level that could truly help people find what they want -beyond basic fitness advice- I knew there were better ways to help people get what they really wanted when they came to me for personal training. It was time to delve into psychology in order to understand why people were doing the things they were doing. Even when they said they didn’t want to do them. In 2007, I pursued a Masters’ degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy at Pepperdine University in Southern California.
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Accomplishing a marathon or a detox cleanse is not going to change the shame you feel about yourself.
While in grad school, I also worked as a Physical Therapy Aide and Personal Trainer. I was a counselor at Tarzana Treatment Center in Los Angeles and I taught for the Kinesiology Department of California State University at Los Angeles. Consequently, I saw people’s physical parts again and again contributing to their mental stability. I saw how a person’s emotions affected their physical status. The interdependence of the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of a person continued to fascinated me. We can not be healthy without a consistent pursuit of balance.
I have provided fitness consultation for recovery centers in Austin, Texas and am I’m pleased to offer online psychotherapy to residents across the state of Texas, as well as health coaching nation-wide. Coaching women, men and teens towards relief and empowerment is so exciting – I get to watch people make their lives better than they once knew they could be. The Austin Body Image Groups that I host for women allow group members to build community and improve relationships with others and with their own bodies. My own group experience, as a group member, continues to prove to me the power of practicing relationships in a therapeutic space that translates to the “real world.”
I’m licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor in the State of Texas and I am nationally certified by the American Council on Exercise (ACE). I produce a weekly publication, the Body Acceptance Project, specifically geared towards members of our Body Image Groups.
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