Hello!
Therapy is often a very vulnerable experience - you're sharing your thoughts and experiences with another person. That's why having a therapeutic connection with your therapist is important.
As you learn more about how I approach therapy and my clinical experiences, I hope it helps you decide if you'd like to work with me to achieve your goals!
My Approach to Therapy
As my client, I'll meet you where you're at in your life - after all, this is your journey! Together, we'll establish a treatment plan that helps you better understand your values, achieve your goals, and learn important skills to help you with all of this.
Overall Therapeutic Goals:
I aim to help my clients understand and be open to their thoughts and emotions, as well as gain clarity in their life, tap into their own strengths, and build the skills needed to move forward - towards the life they envisioned, even in the face of struggles, challenges, and obstacles.
Therapeutic Approaches:
I utilize a variety of counseling methodologies, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Family Systems, and Solution-Focused Therapy to assist my clients in living the life they want and building skills that help with coping, decision-making, growing resilience and becoming psychologically flexible (able to surf life's waves).
Clinical Focuses:
My particular clinical interests include women's issues, motherhood and parenthood, stress/anxiety management, phase of life transitions, and food allergy anxiety counseling, primarily for moms, parents, and young adults. (Note: I don't focus on severe depression or suicidal ideations, and will refer out to practitioners who focus on these clinical areas).
My Thoughts on Life:
Life presents us with challenges along the way whether we want them or not - that's life doing what life does! Rather than thinking about these challenges in terms of failures or successes, it's useful to see them as opportunities to makes choices to learn and grow from. By doing so, this helps us from staying stuck in the struggles. Life truly is a series of stories that you help shape. So if there’s a particular chapter you don’t like, you have the choice to alter its meaning or outcome. Even when you think altering your story isn’t possible, it is!
My Thoughts on Therapy:
Therapy can be both proactive and situation or time-specific in nature. Some may think counseling is solely for those dealing with serious mental health concerns or intense situations. But therapy can also be beneficial for a variety of life's scenarios and tasks - to help navigate stress, challenges, decisions, relationships, and visions for the future. Coaching and offering guidance are additional valuable aspects of counseling. I truly enjoy helping others understand themselves and their situations better so that they can gain the insight and confidence needed to make adjustments or move forward in a direction that aligns best with their values and visions.
Training & Experience
License:
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in IL since 2006; I am a marriage and family therapist with over 20 years of clinical experience
Education/Training:
Masters of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from Adler School of Professional Psychology; Bachelor of Science in Education
Post-Graduate Training:
PSI/2020 Mom Maternal Mental Health Certificate (not certified); 30+ hours of ACT Theory workshops; 2-Day intensive on treating child/adolescent anxiety; Gottman Level 1 Training module (Couples Therapy); Narrative Therapy seminars
Clinical Experience:
Various levels of care, including hospital (inpatient and outpatient), partial and intensive outpatient programs (PHP/IOP), community agency, and private practice settings. Experience working with parents, couples, families, groups, and individual clients [adolescent through adulthood]
Affiliations:
Member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS); Allied Health Professional member of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).
In the Media....
Where I've been quoted, where I've spoken, what I've authored, and who I work with. Visit my LinkedIn profile to learn more.
Quoted In....
Healthline, Medscape, SELF Magazine, Forbes, Business Insider, Nature, Healio, HealthCentral, Counseling Today, Science News for Students, and Real Simple Magazine (print)
Spoken at....
AAAAI Annual Meeting, ACAAI Annual Meeting, FARE's Annual Summit, FAACT events, and many national and support group webinars
Authored....
Multiple articles for Healio, "Social and Emotional Impacts of Allergic Disease" (for ACAAI), "Psychosocial Impacts of Allergic Disease" (medical journal paper), articles for Allergic Living and Coping magazines, the foreward for "Just One Bite", and my upcoming debut book with Johns Hopkins University Press
Advisor/Consultant for....
The Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research (CFAAR), Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), and Seedling
Food Allergy-Specific Experience
Food Allergy Parent:
I am the mom of a child managing a food allergy. Therefore, I get it - I know firsthand what it's like to navigate life with this chronic condition as part of the family system. I understand the daily stress, the overwhelming feelings, and the need to find reliable, evidence-based food allergy information in order to develop an allergy management plan that allows you to balance vigilance and living your best life.
Committee /Advisory Board Member & Allergy Mental Health Expert:
Identified as a thought leader in the allergy field, I am listed as an allergy mental health and counseling expert on Psychwire's "Ask the Expert" section, which features answers from world-leading experts in behavioral science. I am also active on a number of committees for both the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), and am an advisory board member for the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research (CFAAR), Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), and Seedling.
Honors and Recognition:
I am recognized on Spokin's Top 100 Women in Allergy list. Additionally, the food allergy mental health resources and content I've created are often mentioned in provider and community presentations and podcasts in the allergy field.
Speaker:
I regularly present at national and international conferences and lead virtual education webinars focused on food allergy mental health, parenting, family systems, and mindset for both patient and provider populations. Additionally, I have developed allergy mental health and psychosocial education modules for health care provider training courses both in the US and Canada. See a full and growing list of my speaking experiences and projects here.
Author and writer:
My debut book, Navigating the Overwhelm of Allergy Parenting is currently in development and will be published by the prestigious Johns Hopkins University Press. I've also co-authored a medical journal chapter titled Psychosocial Impacts of Allergic Disease. Additionally, I regularly contribute to Healio, have articles on the websites for both American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology's, and Allergy & Asthma Network, and have been quoted and interviewed for articles in mainstream outlets including: Healthline, Medscape, SELF Magazine, Forbes, Business Insider, Nature, Allergic Living Magazine, Coping with Allergies and Asthma, and Counseling Today.
Content & Resource Creator:
I founded the first and only food allergy-informed therapist directory and professional therapist network, which is well-respected with patients and providers in the allergy community. Additionally, through my brand The Food Allergy Counselor, I've written many blog articles on food allergy mental health topics, and developed resources including a podcast and food allergy mental health and mindset worksheets for patients and providers. Visit The Food Allergy Counselor website to explore all of the emotional wellness content I've created, including the worksheets, blog articles, my podcast, and information about my upcoming allergy parenting book!
Food Allergy Resources Created By Me
Why I Began The Food Allergy Counselor and How it Grew
The Food Allergy Counselor, Inc.
In 2018, I asked myself, "Who is focusing on the mental health and psychosocial needs of those managing food allergies?"
That curiosity quickly led me to recognize that even though the food allergy community craved more psychosocial and quality of life-focused content to help them navigate the ups and downs of allergy life, there was a resource gap. That's when I founded The Food Allergy Counselor (The FAC) in order to fill that unmet need!
Initially, The FAC began as a blog, offering guidance and tips for navigating social and emotional aspects of life with food allergies. However, soon after its launch, many began reaching out to inquire about therapy services with allergy-informed therapists. Due to behavioral health licensure guidelines, therapy providers are only able to provide therapy services to those in the state(s) they're licensed in. Therefore, this led me to develop The Food Allergy Counselor Directory, the original state-by-state listing of food allergy-informed licensed clinical mental health clinicians in the US and Canada.
It was at that point that The FAC became an incorporated organization (The Food Allergy Counselor, Inc.) and expanded to focus on offering food allergy mental health resources for both the allergy community and mental health professionals. Additionally, I established The Food Allergy Members Network to help strengthen and expand the growing food allergy counseling niche and help mental health professionals within it connect.
In 2020, I also launched the Exploring Food Allergy Families podcast - a podcast with real talk, relatable conversations, and practical tips focused on navigating the impacts that food allergies and allergic conditions have on families, relationships, mental health, and emotional well-being. Mindset and resilience are key pillars of the podcast, and guests include allergists, allergy-informed therapists, and those managing food allergies. The most recent guest was Jo Frost, also known as Supernanny, who manages food allergies of her own. Exploring Food Allergy Families can be found on any podcast app, including Apple Podcasts.
To locate a food allergy-informed therapist in your state or to become a directory-listed therapist member, visit the Food Allergy Counseling Directory.