I first experienced  Structural Integration work in 1992, while searching for relief from chronic headaches that had not responded to other forms of treatment. The process was so effective and it freed up my body in so many ways that I felt inspired to learn the work and pass it on.

In 1993 I completed massage training with the Cypress Health Institute in Soquel, CA, and went on to become certified as a Practitioner of the Rolf Method of Structural Integration by the Guild for Structural Integration in 1994. Since then I have also received my credential as a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist. 

In the same year that I received my initial bodywork training, I began studying Ch'I Kung in the Shan Tan and T'aI Hsuan Taoist traditions with instructor Annie Kelley in Santa Cruz, CA. I studied with Annie for five years while in California, then continued to practice and also began to teach when I moved to Boulder, CO in 1998. I found that the movement principles of Ch’I Kung deepened my understanding of the Structural Integration process, and greatly enhanced my work with clients.

My interest in Somatic Psychotherapy developed from my work with bodywork clients who showed signs of physical and emotional trauma, as well as from my own experience with symptoms from a head injury as a teenager. I received a Master’s degree in 2002 from Naropa University (Somatic Psychology: Body Psychotherapy), and went on to become certified by the HakomI Institute to practice HakomI Body-Centered Psychotherapy, a unique form of therapy which emphasizes mindfulness and awareness of the body in relation to limiting belief systems. I also have specialized training in working with post-trauma symptoms through the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, the Foundation for Human Enrichment (Somatic Experiencing), and the Rocky Mountain E.M.D.R. Training Institute.

While at Naropa, I was introduced to the practice of sitting meditation in the Shambhala/Vipassana and RinzaI Zen traditions. I continue to practice sitting meditation as well as Ch’I Kung. Observation of the powerful impact of meditation in the lives of friends and colleagues as well as in my own life inspired me to complete the training to teach the program of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction as developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, MA.

In addition to my private practice work, I have taught classes in ethics and body-centered psychotherapy, facilitated support groups for survivors of sexual assault, and worked with individuals suffering from chronic pain at integrative health clinics. I am a member in good standing of the Guild for Structural Integration, the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, the American Counseling Association and the HakomI Institute.

I look forward to working with you.