Some basics
I grew up in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Yep, that’s not a typo. I received my undergraduate degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Jimmy Stewart is from Indiana. His father owned the local hardware store. There’s a statue of him in front of the county court house.
I’ve been in Colorado since the early 80’s. I love hot springs, red rock country in Western Colorado and Utah, wide blue skies, and endless possibilities.
Naropa University brought me to Colorado. I studied Contemplative Psychotherapy long before mindfulness was such a hot, mainstream topic. I feel very fortunate.
I’m a mom to a son who is wise beyond his years and continues to challenge me in ways I never see coming.
I’m an avid reader and love to learn. I’d like to write a sonnet about how wonderful libraries are.
I also enjoy writing and had several pieces published in the Longmont Writers Club Anthology.
My last name is a palindrome, spelled same way forward and backward.
The work thing
I have worked as a psychotherapist for more than 30 years
I love Naropa University and after I graduated kept connected as an adjunct faculty member for 20 years.
There was a decade or so that I worked in Denver in several physical rehabilitation settings, primarily working with people with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
In the early 90’s, I had the opportunity to study with one of my college professors, and facilitated Depression Recovery groups.
Since then I have been in private practice in Boulder, Colorado.
For several years I supervised master’s level psychology interns at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy Counseling Center.
It also seems fair to mention that as a human on this planet, I have suffered loss and disappointment, experienced joy and hope as we all do. Living this life has been its own education.
I’ve been training my whole life for this
I have a deep gratitude for the way many streams can come together to make a vibrant river. Hometown common sense, meditation and mindfulness, the medical/rehab world, and depression recovery work have all woven together to make a beautiful basket. I’ve been lucky to always enjoy my work and have been continuously inspired by my fellow humans.
There is a way in which all that I have experienced, shared and studied in this life, well, I feel as though I have been training my whole life for this.