As long as I can remember I have been interested in people, how they relate to each other, and how they interact with the world and situations around them. At the same time, I have always been interested in helping people with any type of struggle or situation that they find themselves in. These qualities have led me to the type of work that I am in now.

I attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa for my undergraduate studies. There, I majored in Psychology with a minor in Spanish and started the foundation for my clinical interests. I moved to Chicago to attend graduate school at Loyola University of Chicago in the School of Social Work, where I had a mental health concentration and received thorough training in the interactions of biological, social, and psychological systems of one's existence. I will always be grateful for the experience and education from this institution.

During my training in graduate school, I was fortunate to have the experience of an internship on an inpatient general adult unit at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, a freestanding psychiatric hospital. It was during this academic year that I felt firmly that clinical social work and psychotherapy is where my heart is. Since that internship, I have not gone far from that type of work. I am currently a Clinical Social Worker on an adult inpatient behavioral health unit at a hospital here in Chicago, where I have been since I completed graduate school. Over the years in this position, I have worked as a member of a multidisciplinary team and gained invaluable experience and insight into a large variety of issues. I have extensive experience working with those with difficulties in emotional regulation, acute psychosis, existential issues, substance abuse and dependence, relational and relationship problems, and general adjustment issues. I have worked with adult men and women ages 18 to end of life with all types of backgrounds, races and ethnicities, sexual orientations, religious affiliations, trauma histories, and life experiences.

Most of my work in an inpatient behavioral health setting involved discharge planning and linking my patients to community and post discharge resources, leading psychotherapy and psychoeducational groups, as well as leading individual and family sessions. I have found that communication and information about situations, symptoms, and resources often significantly increases one's likelihood for continued wellness and independence.