About Me

I grew up in Hailey, Idaho which was a small town of about 3000 people. I started at a young age being insightful and a good listener. I was interested in people, sought understanding, and tried to help them solve their problems. Some of my friends called me the neighborhood psychologist. My siblings had left home and I was raised more like an only child. That caused me to be very present as my parents went through their own struggles.

 

I graduated high school as salutatorian of my class in 1985. I attended Gonzaga University, first majoring in English and then turning to psychology resulting in a double major of English and Psychology in 1989. I married in 1990 and received a Master of Science degree in clinical psychology from Eastern Washington University in 1992. I worked as a licensed therapist in a pain clinic in Spokane, WA providing counseling to people with chronic pain and/or traumatic brain injury. I also conducted neuropsychological assessments.

 

Several personal, life changing events ensued. My father passed away in 1994 of a suicide. I had my first son in 1996 and stopped working to stay home and care for him. We moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 1999 and I had my second son in 2000. A couple of years later, my husband was laid off and we went through several years of struggles. I worked multiple jobs in the psychology field until I began the career I am currently in. For several years I was a therapist in a youth residential behavioral program and for the past couple of years, have been a therapist on the youth acute psychiatric care unit, all at Kootenai Health. I divorced in 2007. Currently, life has settled and I happily live with and parent my sons, and try to keep a balance of life’s responsibilities and fulfilling experiences.