I have been in private practice in Bloomington as a licensed health psychologist since 2012, at first providing in-person psychotherapy for both general mental health concerns and to those with cancer or other chronic illness. When the coronavirus pandemic established telehealth as an effective means of providing psychotherapy, I expanded my reach Indiana-wide and was inspired to add online groups to support those with Long Covid and women with invisible illness throughout the state. Those groups continue today, along with an online group for young adults with epilepsy. Since 2022, my practice is mostly devoted to those coping with chronic illness or cancer--both individual and group options--including advanced cancer through end of life. A special interest is working with those with auto-immune and other invisible illnesses--even if a medical diagnosis has been elusive as is often the case with these disorders. Functional neurological disorder (FND; conversion disorder) is another special interest.
I am also a mindfulness teacher. I offer mindfulness courses to faculty and staff at Indiana University through the Healthy IU employee wellness program and to cancer patients through IU Health cancer services. I may incorporate mindfulness training in therapy if it meets your individual needs and preferences.
Professional Background
I earned a doctorate in clinical psychology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, a training program accredited by the American Psychological Association, in 2011. The focus was health psychology and the training included a predoctoral fellowship in psycho-oncology funded by the National Institutes of Health. During doctoral training, I gained supervised experience providing psychotherapy for cancer patients at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center. My doctoral internship was at the prestigious Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania where I had the opportunity to work as a part of integrative medicine teams in cancer care, pain management, bariatric surgery assessment, and general mental health services. Finally, I completed postdoctoral training by providing services at IU Bloomington Counseling and Psychological Services.
Starting in graduate school and continuing today, I collaborate in research as a mindfulness teacher or ACT interventionist for cancer survivors through the IU School of Medicine.
I am certified to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a course that is widely considered to be the gold standard in mindfulness training (created by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center; Umass). I completed an extensive course of professional training through UMass to earn the certification in 2017. I have taught well over 60 mindfulness courses in community, health, and university settings.
Personal Life
I live in the country and enjoy being outdoors tending chickens, hiking, or gardening with my husband and when possible with our children and grandchildren. I have had a regular meditation practice since 2000, including participating in several silent meditation retreats of up to 9 days. I have found mindfulness and self-compassion to be important strategies to cultivate for greater peace and ease in my own life.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Psychological Association
Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
Indiana Psychological Association
