The body, mind, emotions, and spirit are the components that make up a human being; I recognize and honor the importance of including all of these in my work, for an experience of healing and growth. I help people connect to and collaborate with their own inner wisdom, and I teach concrete, effective tools and skills.
-Welcome-
Here's some basic information about my work as a psychotherapist and yoga therapy practitioner. I work with individuals and partners in relationships, including but not limited to couples, and families of all configurations. My intention is to assist people in weathering the sometimes rough waters of life that we all encounter.

For information on my rates and insurance, click on the "Fees" tab. The federal "No Surprises Act" Good Faith Estimate Notice is on this page.
  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (NC 637)
  • AAMFT Approved Supervisor
  • Certified Eating Disorders Specialist & Approved Consultant
  • Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist & Approved Consultant
  • Certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner

I help individuals, partners and families of all types address a variety of difficulties, including relationships (married, co-habitating, committed or dating), trauma, anxiety, depression, life transitions and identity issues. I'm LGBTQIA-friendly (my pronouns are she/her). I work with adult children of alcoholics and other troubled families, survivors of abuse, and people active in 12-Step or other addiction recovery programs.

In addition, as an Eating Disorders Specialist, I diagnose and treat anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, emotional eating, obesity, compulsive exercise, body image issues and related problems. I use a Health at Every Size (HAES) approach, and help people create positive, fulfilling relationships with food, body and self.

I've been working in eating disorders treatment since 1990, and certified as an Eating Disorders Specialist (CEDS) by the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP) since 1995. I'm an IAEDP Approved Consultant, providing consultation for therapists seeking Eating Disorders Specialist certification. I was the Eating and Food Issues Topic Expert for GoodTherapy.org for several years; just click the Topic Expert button below to read my articles.
Click here to watch my GoodTherapy webinar on "Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating"
Click here to listen to my Stay Happily Married podcast on what to do when a spouse or partner has an eating disorder.

I believe in the wisdom of the body, and employ somatic, or body-oriented techniques. I'm trained in Somatic Experiencing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Both of these approaches heal trauma by working with the autonomic nervous system, which connects brain and body.  To address current difficulties resulting from trauma, abuse or neglect that originated in childhood, adolescence or young adulthood, or even ancestrally or intergenerationally, I combine somatic work with Internal Family Systems.
IFS is a gentle, yet powerful, means of healing past wounds and increasing self-compassion, as well as treating many present-day problems that bring people to therapy. "Nature abhors a vaccuum," "no man is an island": all living things operate in relationship to other living things, and human beings function in relationship to one another. As a MFT my theoretical education and training is grounded in General Systems Theory and its psychotherapeutic sibling, Family Systems Theory. IFS is a step inward, to our internal systems of parts that organize themselves according to the principles that govern all systems. Yet, IFS's central tenet is that we humans also have within our internal systems a Self that is invulnerable, timeless and compassionately present. Connecting to our parts from our core Self is the key to healing.

I also utilize EMDR (which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for both past and recent trauma-related issues, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which offers practical skills for healthy coping as alternatives to self-damaging behaviors, and increases capacity to tolerate the intensity of trauma processing.

For more information about these approaches, click on these links:
Somatic Experiencing
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Internal Family Systems
EMDR
DBT

Yoga and Yoga Therapy:
-I'm a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. PRYT sessions are designed to relieve stress, increase physical flexibility, and support personal emotional and spiritual growth. For more information about PRYT, click on Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy
-I've done a Trauma-Sensitive Yoga teacher training through the Trauma Center at JRI in Boston, MA and offer yoga classes for survivors of all types of traumatic experiences. I also offer periodic Yoga for Eating and Body Concerns series.
For more information, go to my Yoga page.
Secure video sessions available via VSee HIPAA-compliant telemedicine technology - Used by NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
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If you need to speak with someone immediately, these hotlines are manned 24/7: 
  HopeLine: 919-231-4525 or 877-235-4525
  The Durham Center Crisis Hotline: 800-510-9132