I am a holistic, trauma-responsive Occupational Therapist and Yoga teacher in private practice in Madison, WI. One of my gifts is recognizing patterns and creating connections of understanding and function. I believe that the patterns in how we move, breath, respond, and relate are all connected. I specialize in empowering and resourcing people to support their body and nervous system for resiliency and health from a holistic lens.

People who find their way to working with me have a few things in common:

  • You are looking for a holistic approach to supporting persistent pain, pelvic health, nervous system regulation, mental health, and/or trauma recovery.

  • You want to reclaim a sense of safety and connection in your body.

  • You are curious about movement, breathing, and being.

  • You are interested in looking at the big picture, how it’s all connected and relates back to function, purpose, and meaning to real life.

  • You have a desire to feel resourced and empowered through your health journey.

  • You appreciate the dynamic possibilities and flexibility a community-based therapist can provide.

  • If you are a parent, you know in your heart that empowering yourself is the best way to support your family. A parent who is in tune with their body and understands how to regulate themselves is the best tool you can have in supporting your child’s regulation needs.

A little history about me:

In the earlier years of my 20-year career, I specialized in sensory processing disorders, attachment, and mental health needs in clinical settings. I was passionate about giving parents the skills to be responsive to their child’s body and emotional needs as well as their own through the power of play, connection, and co-regulation. As a caregiver, we cannot regulate others, if we are not first regulated. This work is still near and dear to my heart as a parent with PTSD.

In 2005, I fell in love with yoga. I had been living with debilitating symptoms associated with PTSD, chronic pain, and pelvic dysfunction. My friend, Ann, changed my life by taking me to my first class. Yoga helped me find my way back home to me. It reminded me of what is possible and my body’s profound wisdom for healing. I realized along the way that something beautiful and inspiring could come out of so much pain. In 2017, I completed Perennial Yoga’s 200 RYT training with Keith Borden and Megan Grace. I love infusing therapeutic modalities such as developmental movement patterns and self-myofascial work, anatomy, neuroscience, and the healing power of sound and mantra into my practice.

As I navigated my own healing path and mental health journey, the services (breath work, sensorimotor and reflex integration) I offered others were incredibly powerful as I incorporated them into my daily life. That eventually lead me to further explore somatics, movement, and pelvic health. I felt a spark in me when I realized that I had the skills to bring that work together. My organic understanding of how trauma and chronic pain had impacted my own body and those that sought support has been a personal and deeply inspired body of work. The common thread being the power of the nervous system. My innate curiosity, tenacity, and desire for the freedom to create lead me to start my private practice so that this incredible work can evolve in a way that felt authentic to me and to my clients.

There’s so much cross over among my body of work. Nervous System Resilience - Sensory Processing - Developmental Movement - Somatics - Attachment - Mental Health - Movement - Breath - Posture - Interoception - Fascia - Trauma Recovery - Pelvic Health. I see and hold in reverence how it’s all connected and the role in plays in our daily lives and occupations.

I believe so deeply in empowering others with this knowledge. My perspective and approach to treatment are highly influenced by my teachers in Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration - MNRI® Method, Movement for Trauma with Jane Clapp, Neurovascular Integration with Cathy Holway, Lindsey Vestal of the Functional Pelvis, Lauren Ohayon of Restore Your Core, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Sheila Frick and many leaders in sensory integration therapy.

I am a lifelong student and love to explore the great wonders of the nervous system, soma, movement, and healing traditions. I look forward to connecting and together exploring the possibilities of awakening your inner wisdom, empowerment, and vitality. I invite you to come play, breathe, move, connect, and expand with me.

My approach to treatment:

  • I believe that you should get to decide what is best for you and your treatment. My role is to educate and facilitate. You get to decide. Not the insurance company, not the “program”. You!

  • I believe in the power of accessing your therapeutic work in your daily life and know how to implement it at home.

  • I believe in an approach that considers your personal experience, your habits/routines, physical health, emotional health, and what holds meaning for you.

  • I don’t believe that therapy happens in a one hour session one time a week or just in an office. That’s the medical model. That’s not how I roll! I believe the real work happens in everyday life. I offer an alternative that is holistic and is customized to you, your needs, and resources. This includes the location of where sessions are held. We can meet at my office, your home, or online.

  • I don’t follow a program. A therapeutic approach is one that works for you. You are a dynamic and evolving being and so is the therapeutic process.

  • I value your personal experience, wisdom, and strengths. This is the place from which we build.

  • The loudest symptom is NOT always the cause. I’m curious about the why and what it’s trying to communicate. What is underneath it or related to it?

  • My job is to put myself out of a job. Terrible business model, I know! I want you to feel empowered and resourced, to feel like “I’ve got this”, and to know you have what you need.

  • My role is to help you understand the patterns in which your body and nervous system communicate. Which ones are working or not working for you? I support you in building the pathways to keep that communication open and reciprocal for ease, vitality, and resiliency.