About Me:
Professionally speaking, I am a Master's level pre-licensed professional counselor and National Certified Counselor™ practicing under supervision.
It may be more important for you to know a bit about who I am as a person. I am a Christian, military spouse of 25 years and mom to 4 young adults. I am someone who has been through some stuff and came out stronger. As a result, I am committed to perpetual growth while embracing the courage to be imperfect.
I care deeply about others and value transparency and integrity.
In my free time I like walking, quilting, and watching reruns of "Friends." I thought I liked gardening but I’ve decided I hate weeds too much for that. My pets crack me up on the daily. So does my husband. I want to always be a work in progress so I will never stop growing.
I want to leave this world a better place than I found it.
My Journey to Become a Therapist
I went through a year that seriously rocked my world when my husband was deployed. I looked for a counselor who understood military culture and was also a Christian, and had a hard time finding such a unicorn. The counselor I did find was fantastic; she helped me identify the patterns that kept me stuck, anxious, and stressed.
Prior to that year, I had no idea I was carrying around so many burdens God never intended me to carry.
When I decided to go back to work, I was not at peace with the thought of being a classroom teacher again, so I did some soul searching.
What are my natural gifts?
What kinds of activities feed my soul?
How can I do my part to make this world a better place?
I have always been someone with a calm demeanor, and seem to invite people to pour out their stories and problems. I realized that when I was a teacher, I liked the counseling part of teaching more than teaching. I thought about the volunteer work I have done in Women's Ministry and Military Spouse groups and recognized the ways I have been counseling women all my life. I thought about the burdens I didn't know I carried that generated anxiety in my life. I've had a good life! If I could struggle so much with those normal burdens, how many other women are out there suffering in silence with theirs?
It was like these pieces of my life puzzle came together and showed me that the picture God has been creating was that of a counselor.
I stepped out in faith and applied to Messiah College, and... well.... here I am! My desire to do this work grew stronger with every course I took. Grad school coincided with our duty station in Carlisle. We fell in love with the area and decided to stay here now that my husband has retired from the military.
I am so thankful to be working in a job I LOVE.
About Sparrow’s Nest
I named my practice “Sparrow’s Nest” because I love the sparrow imagery in the Bible.
Sparrows are just ordinary, commonplace birds, and yet God pays attention to them.
They have value to Him.
How often do we feel like ordinary, nothing-special women who blend into the background of life?
We think nobody notices us, nobody cares.
God sees. God cares.
He knows that sometimes we need a place to be protected from the struggles of life while we work on healing or developing the muscles we need to fly.
I have yet to meet a client who doesn’t need a reminder that they are valued just because they exist.
Nests are protected places to be vulnerable, to be cared for, to gain strength.
I want my clients to think of our work together that way.
Schedule Your Free Consultation
Contact me for a no-charge 15-minute consultation. There are all kinds of therapists out there. It’s important that you find one that is a good fit for you. This introductory phone call lets me start to understand your needs and explain how I can help. Together we decide if I am the best fit for you.