Education & Training
My work blends traditional therapy, somatic wisdom, and progressive sex education. I’ve spent over a decade studying with leaders in the field - and I continue to train, supervise, and refine my approach to support individuals and couples navigating intimacy, growth, and change.
Traditional Therapy Foundation:
Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Bradley University in Illinois (3 Years)
Somatic & Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Certified in Gestalt Therapy (1 Year)
Trained by the Gestalt Institute of San Francisco - integrating body awareness, emotional presence, and relational dynamics.
Hakomi Somatic & Mindfulness Therapy Training (1 Year)
A Buddhist-informed body-centered psychotherapy method that uncovers unconscious patterns and opens space for healing.
Sex, Kink, Pleasure & Non-Monogamy
Advanced Clinical Training with Keeley Rankin (3 Years)
3 years of specialized clinical training under Keeley Rankin, a former therapist and leading Bay Area sex coach.
Completed 2,400 supervised clinical hours
3 years of weekly peer supervision alongside Aimee Evnin, Certified AASECT Sex Therapist (LMFT)
Somatic Sex Education (In Progress)
Currently completing advanced somatic sex educator training, incorporating body-based tools for sexual healing and pleasure expansion.
Course Facilitator & Former Student: Libby Sinback’s 16-Week Healthy Non-Monogamy Course (1 Year)
I first took this training, then returned as a course assistant and instructor for 3 cohorts of students. I helped lead the program - teaching the sex and pleasure modules as well as running group processing breakouts - bringing in somatic tools and sex education to help participants build deeper, more authentic connections.
Unfurling into Pleasure (4 Months)
Completed a 16-week somatic and pleasure-based course with best-selling author and sex educator Euphemia Russell, author of Slow Pleasure: Explore Your Pleasure Spectrum.
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Understanding Attraction by Tracy Montgomery
Orienting Towards Pleasure by Dr. Liam Snowdon
Troubling Normal (A somatic inquiry into society’s norms that may cause constraints in your body) by Dr. Liam Snowdon
Midwifery & Somatic Sex Education: Enhancing the Pregnancy & Birth Experience by Pati Garcia LM, CPM, CSB
Practicing Pleasure by Shauna Farabaugh
Yes No Maybe So (Body Awareness and Embodied Consent) by Shauna Farabaugh
The Power of Playful Connection by Tracy Montgomery
Body Image Healing Letter Writing Technique by Kai Cheng Thom
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT)
EFT is a researched-backed approach to couples therapy. It focuses on repairing emotional bonds and building secure, resilient relationships. This model is especially effective for couples struggling to reconnect, rebuild trust, or move through conflict in a grounded, emotionally attuned way.
Completed: Level 1
In Progress: Level 2 (to be completed December 2025)
Other Modalities and Certifications
Intentional Eating and Body-Image Training (6 months)
Completed a 6-month course with Emily Van Eck, MS, RDN, focused on building a nourishing, non-diet relationship with food and body. This work helped me reframe body image and connect with self-love and sensuality in the present - not as a future ideal - so I can better support both myself and my clients.
Certified in “Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents” (3 Months)
Based on the work of Dr. Lindsay Gibson, this certification deepened my ability to support clients dealing with the lasting impact of emotionally immature caregivers - such as boundary struggles, shame, and emotional neglect. I use this framework to help clients build more secure relationships and a grounded sense of self.
Financial Literacy & Values-Based Business (8 weeks)
Completed an 8-week course with Hadassah Damien - a queer punk artist turned economics researcher and activist - on sustainable, equity-focused financial practices for small businesses. This training deepened my understanding of how money shapes mental health, relationships, and values-driven living.
Opening the Heart of Forgiveness (7 weeks)
Completed Jack Kornfield’s 7-week course on forgiveness, reconciliation, self-compassion, and emotional healing. This training deepened my ability to support clients carrying grief, resentment, or unresolved emotional pain, offering practical tools for release and repair.
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ESSFT: Evolving Structural Strategic Family Therapy (Institute of Advancement of Psychotherapy)
Working with Families Using Evidence-Informed Principles by Pamela Parkinson, PhD)
Attachment Needs of Kids by Pamela Parkinson, PhD
Assessing Family Relationships by Pamela Parkinson, PhD
1 Way Mirror Therapy Training with Families and Children by Pamela Parkinson, PhD
Men’s Group Facilitation Training by ManKind Project
Life Experience (That Shapes My Work)
I bring real-life experience across a range of lifestyles, challenges, and personal transformations that shape my work with clients in meaningful ways:
Entrepreneurship & Leadership
Founded and ran a multimillion-dollar tech company
Selected as one of 20 international entrepreneurs for Kauffman Foundation’s Global Scholarship, a five-month fellowship with training at Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Kauffman Labs. I was the youngest entrepreneur selected (age 21), alongside peers like aerospace engineers designing space waste management systems and inventors of energy-generating playgrounds.
Solitude, Buddhism & Self-Reflection
Completed 100 days on the Appalachian Trail in Semi-Solitude
Completed 10-Day Vipassana (10 Day Silent Meditation)
Alternative Living & Simplicity
Built out a school bus into an off-grid home and lived without a refrigerator, toilet, or many modern conveniences - to explore minimalism, resilience, and simplicity.
Certified Master Naturalist (New Orleans)
Cross-Cultural Immersion
Lived for 5 months in a rural village in Kenya and 5 months in a communal living experiment in the Middle East - experiences that deepened my understanding of culture, belonging, and relational resilience.
Art
I practice sculptural art, abstract oil painting, drawing and partner dancing. I’ve also trained in integrating art, movement, and therapeutic process - exploring how creative expression supports healing, embodiment, and connection.
Love & Growth
I’ve experienced the full arc of relational life - from marriage and a successful divorce to the trials and tribulations of singlehood, dating, long-term partnership, and non-monogamy. I’ve explored monogamy, ethical slut phases, and deeper commitments. These lived experiences inform the depth, nuance, and nonjudgmental presence I bring to clients navigating intimacy, identity, and connection.
Books That Have Deeply Influenced Me
These books have shaped my approach to therapy, relationships, mindfulness, and sexuality. They reflect the wisdom, compassion, and complexity I bring to my work.
Already Free — Bruce Tift
Deepest Acceptance — Jeff Foster
Pleasure Activism — Adrienne Maree Brown
All About Love — Bell Hooks
Radical Acceptance — Tara Brach
The Erotic Mind — Jack Morin
Come As You Are — Emily Nagoski
The Ethical Slut — Dossie Easton & Janet Hardy
Polysecure — Jessica Fern
Mating In Captivity — Esther Perel
The Wisdom of Affairs — Esther Perel
Feeling Good — David Burns
The Miracle of Mindfulness — Thich Nhat Hanh
When Things Fall Apart — Pema Chödrön
Next Steps
We’ll start with a free 15-minute consultation call - or some emails - so you can get a feel for what it’s like to work with me - and see if I’m the right fit for you.
If it feels like a good match, we’ll meet over Zoom in a confidential, supportive space. You don’t need to come in with the perfect words. I’ll guide you step by step as we slow things down and begin practicing tools that calm your system and help you understand what’s really been driving this pattern.
Most folks feel relief after the first session and a sense of clarity about why it’s been happening.