I am a holistic anxiety coach, naturopathic doctor, and speaker.
Being human can be hard. Being human with mental health challenges can be even harder. My passion is to serve as a healing catalyst for women; helping them navigate the hardships and make life more manageable, enjoyable and impactful.
Through fiercely compassionate, action-oriented, and holistically minded coaching, I help women rediscover their deepest value, talents and strength, and reclaim a life worth living.
I guide my clients to regulate their nervous system, shift their relationship with fear and failure, delicately process trauma, connect with their inner wisdom, and recognize that with the appropriate education, tools and encouragement, they can handle whatever life throws their way; even when it feels really hard!
Blending my decades of therapeutic experience with my naturopathic education allows me to empathize with client struggles on a personal level, while offering guidance on a professional level.
I bring 20+ years of the ins & outs of personal healing, 9+ years of formal higher education, over 10,000 direct patient care hours, and knowledge from ongoing conventional and alternative trainings to the table; providing the framework to create thriving personal and professional lives.
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Bachelor of Science, UMASS Dartmouth, magna cum laude
Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, highest academic achievement
Post-Doctoral Rotations:
University of San Francisco OCD & Tics Clinic, San Francisco, CA
Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Center, Tucson, AZ
Amen Clinics, Washington D.C.
Fountainhead Naturopathic Mental Health Clinic, Capitola, CA
The River Source Addiction Treatment & Recovery Center, Phoenix, AZ
Emotional Freedom Technique Training, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine
Relational Life Therapy™ (RLT) - Level 1 Certification, Dr. Terry Real
Regional Hospital Accompaniment Response Team (RHART) Training & Certification, Richmond, VA
50-Hour Victim Advocate Training Certification for Trauma Informed Care, Richmond, VA
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) In Our Own Voice Presenter Certification
Licensed ND in Arizona
After decades of being a people pleaser, perfectionist and procrastinator, I realized my life had gotten away from me. Somehow my life didn’t feel like it fully belonged to me anymore.
I was trudging through life upon a foundation of avoidance, comparison, regret, fear, and denial. I struggling day-to-day, rigidly thinking, and viewing situations, in only black-or-white. I was chronically feeling disappointed and dissatisfied with where I was in life, but unsure of how to get where I wanted to go.
And, I had finally had enough! I was ready to reclaim MY life as MY own. Here is my story…
I never felt comfortable around people. I can remember being 4 years old and my mom dropping me off at preschool. I was clinging to her leg like a little koala bear begging her not to make me go inside. I didn’t speak to anyone outside of my home until I was in 3rd grade. I had regular panic attacks through high school. I felt like everybody hated me through college. I felt like I wasn’t competent enough through graduate school.
My anxiety, perfectionism and obsessions grew right along with me as I grew up.
All the while, I excelled academically, athletically and socially. Even those closest to me had no reason to suspect I was struggling.
But I was struggling. I spent my life thinking I wasn’t smart enough, pretty enough, nice enough, fun enough, or talented enough. I prioritized achieving above all else; in hopes of proving to others, and mostly myself, that I was enough.
Essentially, I was trying to “out achieve” my anxiety for years. Of course, this only rooted me more deeply in my anxiety.
Truthfully, for a while my successes did keep me afloat. I learned that if I could keep it together on the outside, I could hide how I was feeling on the inside. But eventually, I realized these coping skills were unsustainable AND unfulfilling.
While each accomplishment brought a glimmer of satisfaction and a bit of relief, it was fleeting. I found the anticipated validation didn’t last, and another future goal quickly became my new prerequisite to feelings of confidence, happiness and success.
I was so tired of achieving, yet afraid to stop. So tired of blending in, but nervous to stand out. So tired of chasing perfection, but terrified to accept imperfection. So tired of being anxious, but uncertain of who I was without anxiety.
It was at this crossroads where I truly surrendered. I stopped resisting and I stopped controlling, and I began allowing. Accepting. Embracing.
I started learning how to form a powerful relationship with my anxiety.
I became willing to feel and experience things I had resisted feeling or experiencing before.
Interestingly, the more willing I was to tolerate failure, the more successful I was.
The more willing I was to rest, the more productive I became.
The more willing I was to get uncomfortable, the more comfortable I felt.
The more willing I was to risk embarrassment, the more confident I was.
The more willing I was to tolerate my anxiety, the less anxious I felt.
And my life experiences completely shifted.
This willingness helped me to stop seeing everything as black-and-white. I started to live the “gray area” - which actually wasn't gray at all! It turned out to be where ALL the color lies; joy, pride, love, peace, connection, fun, freedom, adventure, and true success. Life in this gray area felt like I was finally living MY life.
I had come a long way and I wanted to use my skills to help others. That's when I became a holistic anxiety coach and later received a doctorate degree as a naturopathic physician. Choosing to pursue an education in medicine while I was healing my own life proved to be invaluable. Not only did it accelerate my personal healing, but it gifted me the opportunity to put the years anxiety and depression had stolen from me to good use - to help support people like YOU.