About Me
I am a native of Athens, Georgia, and a graduate of the University of Georgia. As a non-traditional student, I returned to pursue a more meaningful and authentic life through the field of clinical social work. Feeling a deep calling to support others in their healing, I transitioned out of the corporate world and into a career dedicated to trauma-informed care and therapeutic transformation.
As a person in long-term recovery, I understand firsthand the suffering that accompanies addiction, chronic stress, and the painful cycles of trauma. My own journey began with an injury and the misuse of prescribed pain medication, but in recovery I came to recognize the complex environmental and emotional factors that made me vulnerable to this biobehavioral disorder. Glennon Doyle describes recovery as “one long remembering, that I’m still here,” a sentiment that continues to resonate deeply with me.
Today, I specialize in trauma therapy, addiction therapy, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), offering evidence-based, compassionate treatment for individuals seeking relief from trauma, anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders. I am committed to creating a safe, non-judgmental therapeutic space rooted in kindness, clarity, and empowerment. My work centers on helping clients reclaim connection, rediscover resilience, and move toward lives that feel grounded, meaningful, and free.
There is a way out—and it is far less painful than staying where you are. You deserve healing, and you do not have to seek it alone.
What to Expect From Me
Transparency: I often use mindful attention to my own internal reactions and our way of relating to each other to bring subconscious feelings and processes into conscious awareness. It’s important to me to create a space where people feel they don’t have to hide.
Laughter: Just as negative internal experiences are a normal part of being human, so are the silly parts. I often co-celebrate goofy moments with clients in session. Though our culture may place perfection, control, success, and power on a pedestal; I just don’t believe that’s what we’re wired for. Authentic connection is our real evolutionary advantage and connection demands we set our egos aside.
Goal-Directed: We will identify your goals together and I will help hold you accountable to those goals. I believe the best therapy is specific and intentionally moves towards resolving your suffering. I have a way of being direct without being punitive or shaming. Maybe that’s because there’s truly nothing you can do to shake my faith in you. We are all just humans in our process of change.
A Little Buddhist: I don’t identify as a Buddhist or consider it my religion. I honor all religious and spiritual beliefs and have no intention of altering yours. However, I have found that many Buddhist traditions like mindfulness, meditation, non-attachment, and impermanence are highly effective tools in the healing process.
My Journey
II have worked within several of Athens’ leading for-profit outpatient addiction treatment programs, gaining extensive firsthand experience in the strengths and limitations of traditional approaches to substance use treatment. I have also had the privilege of being mentored by two of the most seasoned addiction counselors in the region, whose combined 80+ years of clinical experience have profoundly shaped my development as a trauma-informed, addiction-focused clinician.
Throughout my work in these settings, one truth became unmistakably clear: the link between childhood trauma and substance misuse is not an exception—it is the norm. Over time, I came to understand substance use as an adaptive response, particularly to attachment trauma. When individuals lack experiences of consistent, secure connection, substances can temporarily provide relief, comfort, or a sense of belonging. While initially effective as a coping strategy, this relationship becomes increasingly harmful, creating deeper disconnection and emotional distress. Many people follow this pattern until they finally have the opportunity and support to heal the underlying trauma and rediscover safe, meaningful connection with themselves and others.
My work with ketamine began in 2019 at a progressive substance use treatment center that also operated Athens’ first ketamine clinic. As clients began receiving ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), I witnessed profound and measurable transformations—changes I could not ignore. This marked the beginning of my path toward becoming a psychedelic-informed therapist. Working with ketamine and other emerging psychedelic therapies is one of the greatest professional honors of my life. Although I never imagined this would be my career, seeing clients shift out of rigid, trauma-shaped patterns and reconnect with compassion, clarity, and possibility affirmed the profound therapeutic potential of these medicines.
I understand that some may view the integration of ketamine or psychedelic-assisted therapy with individuals in recovery as counterintuitive. While this concern is understandable, my clinical experience has shown that, with proper screening, education, and therapeutic support, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy can be both safe and transformative for clients with trauma histories and substance use disorders. I approach this work with great responsibility—providing clear guidance around risks and benefits and ensuring that treatment occurs within a structured, healing-centered framework.
I use these tools because they help people heal—deeply, sustainably, and with dignity.
My Clients
My clients are often individuals whose unresolved trauma now manifests as rigid thought patterns, emotional reactivity, or entrenched behaviors that feel difficult to change. For example, a person who grew up in an environment where love or acceptance was conditional—based on achievement, compliance, or perfection—may develop an internal belief that their worth is contingent upon performance. In adulthood, this can present as perfectionism, people-pleasing, hypervigilance, or a persistent sense of inadequacy. Others may identify as empaths or caretakers who cannot break free from patterns that once kept them safe but now limit their ability to thrive.
Many clients also engage in coping behaviors that temporarily soothe the underlying pain of attachment wounds and developmental trauma. These may include alcohol use, emotional avoidance, controlling behaviors, chronic distraction, or other forms of self-protection that eventually become maladaptive.
This combination—childhood trauma, a protective coping persona, and entrenched maladaptive behaviors—is the core of my clinical work. I specialize in treating these patterns through a trauma-informed, integrative approach that may incorporate evidence-based modalities such as EMDR, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and parts work. For appropriate clients, these therapies can be enhanced through psychedelic-informed treatment or Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Every treatment plan is individualized; not all clients require or choose to work with medicine, and therapy alone can be deeply effective.
A common misconception is that psychedelic therapies function as a “quick fix.” The medicine itself is not the healer—rather, it acts as a powerful facilitator of insight. I often describe it as a telephone connecting you to your higher self. For many people, especially those shaped by trauma, this connection has never felt accessible. The inner self they meet through this work is wise, compassionate, and capable of profound healing. My role is to help clients prepare for this experience, support them in navigating what arises, and guide them through the integration process so that insights translate into meaningful, sustained change.
If you find yourself struggling without relief, I would be glad to speak with you about your unique circumstances and offer guidance on which therapeutic approach—whether traditional, integrative, or ketamine-assisted—may best support your healing.