Chicago Mindful Psychotherapy and Andersonville Psychology are now
Andersonville Mindfulness & Psychology
I am the owner and executive director of Andersonville Mindfulness & Psychology. Currently, my focus has shifted to support our staff in their clinical work while also continuing to develop and grow the practice. I am only working with the caseload of therapy clients I have built at this point, and will not be taking on new clients for the foreseeable future. I continue to provide psychological testing services and may have availability to work with external supervisees or other practice owners in a consultative role.
As a clinical supervisor, I work from the Integrated Developmental Model of supervision. This means that I recognize that working as a clinician involves multiple domains, and each of us has some domains we excel in and others we struggle with. Domains may include rapport building and relationship management, assessment, intervention, documentation, and others. I work with supervisees to honestly identify their mastery of each domain and then help them support their development as necessary. In this capacity I am proud to have played a role in the development of dozens of mental health clinicians.
When I work as a consultant for other practice owners, I strive to help them identify the values they want their practice to embody first and foremost. In my experience, tying business decisions to personal and professional values provides a clear direction forward. I also help owners develop or make use of systems and processes to increase their efficiency as much as possible so they can focus on supporting their clients and employees. Until everyone who needs mental health care is receiving it, I do not believe it makes sense to view other practices as competition. My goal is to help owners build a values-driven practice that is supportive of themselves, their clients, and their teams.
In my work as a therapist, I rely heavily on the cognitive-behavioral framework. This means I focus a lot on helping clients identify underlying beliefs about themselves, the world, and the future that may not be serving them currently. Together we explore the possible roots of these beliefs and work to find evidence for or against them in the client’s life. I also employ mindfulness techniques and make use of the relationship between my client and myself. The relationship between a therapist and a client is a novel one. Much of its strength comes from its boundaries and from the therapist’s role as a non-judgmental observer and advisor.
After growing up in and around Louisville, Kentucky and completing my bachelors degree in psychology, I moved to Chicago in 2010 to begin graduate school at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology where I earned my doctorate. I developed an interest in psychology after managing my own mental health struggles as a teenager. I consider myself very fortunate to have chosen a career that continues to be challenging, fulfilling, and exciting to me, and I have a great appreciation for the vulnerability and courage my clients demonstrate when we begin our work together.
Much of my clinical work and training has focused on the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to identifying as a member of this community myself, I have completed specialized training in working with this population and I continue to build upon my knowledge base with advanced training opportunities.