My Mission: I became a play therapist when I discovered I had a natural talent for connecting with kids. My mission is to use this talent to help kids feel confident, calm, capable, connected, and like they matter. I hope to help families and schools create environments where kids of all types can thrive and enjoy their life while growing and learning. My Focus: My focus is working with children and teens who are struggling with feeling comfortable in their lives. This ranges from difficulty adjusting to school or life changes to struggling with autism, panic attacks, trauma, suicidal thoughts and self-harming. I also provide support to parents seeking to learn new ways of helping their individual children thrive in their own personality and environment. Disorders that I commonly work with are anxiety, autism spectrum, sensory disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, and depression. My Experience: I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in Texas and a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) in New Mexico. In addition, I am a registered play therapist (RPT). I have been working with children in a variety of positions for over 15 years, and I have been practicing as a play therapist for 4 years. In addition to my work in the playroom, I am currently the President-Elect of the New Mexico Association for Play Therapy. I am also a member of the Texas Association for Play Therapy in the Sam Houston Division. Finally, I have worked supporting children in the courts as a Court Appointed Special Advocate as well. I am certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and I am trained to work with sensory regulation such as mindfulness, body awareness, and kinesthetic regulation. My Technique: Play therapy combined with art therapy techniques is my primary technique. My work with children focuses on exploring the thoughts and feelings behind behavior and addressing these underlying concerns through play therapy and art techniques. I also use parenting skills training and dyadic sessions to help parents be more involved in the process and to help the child take learning outside my office into their real life. My work with parents focuses on teaching parents how they can best support their child’s specific personality and style of learning. It is important to realize that play therapy is often a slow process. While behaviors are often the problem that bring a child into my office, it is the emotions and thoughts behind those behaviors that need to be addressed or the behavior will not change and may become more difficult. While this process can be slow it is also highly effective and prevents new problems from arising later when the process is completed. About Me: I am a very high energy and very positive, bubbly person. I love Tinkerbell, Gilmore Girls, being outdoors, and country music. I recently moved from New Mexico to be with my boyfriend and my 7-year-old stepson in their hometown of Houston. We spend most of our family time in Boyscouts, baseball, and playing Skylanders or Beyblades. Education/Credentials: Registered Play Therapist, 2018 Licensed Professional Counselor (TX), 2018 Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (NM), 2015 Eastern New Mexico University- Master of Arts in Counseling. Areas of Specialty: Children Adolescents trauma Parenting