My heart lies in working with first responders. I have been working with first responders for over 17 years and I am also the spouse of a first responder. Growing up, my passion was always to get into law enforcement. When I got accepted into graduate school for psychology, I decided to take that route and merge the two disciplines.
During my graduate studies, I interned with the Fresno Police Department for over five years. I also completed my dissertation on policing and work stress. After graduate school, I worked at CDCR as a prison psychologist for several years and was on the peer support team for Corrections. This is where I truly started to see the need for mental health treatment for first responders.
This need was further reinforced while working as an evaluator and treatment provider for first responders within the Workers’ Compensation system. From this experience, I decided I wanted to do more to help this population and thus, opened my own practice, Therapy for the Healing Hero, in 2023. In addition to my private practice, I continue to work within the Worker’s Compensation system as a Qualified Medical Examiner (QME).
Since I have worked with first responders in a variety of settings and from a variety of departments, this allows me to tailor the therapy to meet the unique needs of each profession.
My goal is to provide each client with a safe place to talk about their concerns, while exploring different perspectives and options in managing their difficulties. I encourage an open and honest relationship in order to effectively meet each need. I am a big supporter in empowering my clients to take steps towards gaining a sense of control, as well as a sense of happiness, in their own lives.
Concern (First Responder Only), Magellan (First Responder Only), ComPsych (First Responder Only).