“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” ~ John 1:4-5 ESV

I believe Jesus’ light and life is at the core of each person who believes in God and has become a child of God; holding the potential of all you are created to be. This world can get dark, and life can be so painful, but His light never goes out. He has promised to restore all the things about which God spoke…(Acts 3:21).

“…and the were all healed.” ~ Acts 5:16 ESV

Okay, this is a big one to put in here. I believe all things are possible with God. I believe He is still in the business of healing – body, mind, heart and soul. Does he always heal us here on Earth? No, unfortunately not. I do 100% believe He is answering us in every way, and in the Best way, possible. One day, as Oswald Chambers says, God will explain all He has allowed. I pray for radical and total healing for my clients. I pray He moves mountains in your life. I pray He does all that needs to be done, as He wills and as He knows. I believe one day He will restore all things and we will understand why sometimes our prayers seemed unanswered.

Why do I do this work?

I’ve loved God for a long time, and really started pursuing a personal relationship with Him in high school, coming after some not great church experiences. I consider myself a follower and disciple of Jesus. I’ve been around a lot of denominations and think there are beautiful things about all of them and things I disagree with in all of them. I think in Heaven, we won’t have denominations. It’ll just be children of God.

Not knowing what to do with myself after graduating from the University of Portland with a degree in Communication, I spent a year in Arizona, volunteering with Andre House – a Catholic Worker House offering myriad services to homeless people. We served dinner to 500-800 people nightly; gave out clothes; provided free housing for those trying to get back on their feet; lived in community with the staff. It was a desert experience for sure, and I wondered how people got here and was it possible to be healed? Those two questions stayed with me as I headed back to California, where my family lived.

I started attending the Golden Gate Community Nazarene church in San Fransico. They had multiple ministries, so I worked with homeless/at-risk youth at Einstein’s Cafe. And then I spent a year as emergency night staff in Oak Street House – a home for single moms recovering from addiction and homelessness with their kiddos under age three. We also had an incredibly connected community with two locations and five pastors. Debby, our pastor of spiritual formation, lead retreats, groups, individual spiritual direction- incredible opportunities designed to help us be able to live and love like Jesus. I dove in and have continued these practices in different ways since then.

Golden Gate held a class early on in my time there called, “Kaleo,” Greek for “Calling.” I came away believing my calling was/is, to be helping others reach their full stature in Christ. Still believe that and pray for God’s continued equipping, wisdom, and help, as I hope to hear God’s voice of love in my own life and then share it (this was Debby’s mission).

Fast forward – couldn’t make ends meet, certainly not in San Francisco, working for all of these non-profits. I got a job back in Portland, Oregon at Concordia University in Student Services. All along, I had still carried the questions – how do people get broken; and how do they (we) heal?

At Concordia, I was encouraged to get a Master’s, so attended Western Seminary for my MA in Counseling. I wanted to be better equipped to help people be their best.

My first counseling job was at Columbia River Mental Health Services. I started getting training there in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – designed for suicidal/high risk people. From there, I worked for Portland DBT Institute and received intensive training in full-fidelity DBT. After having our second (of three) beautiful daughter, a colleague presented the opportunity to join a group of private practice counselors, supporting and being near each other at Lacamas Counseling.

DBT really only works when you have a whole team, as it provides 24 hour support for clients and is so intense for clinicians. I had witnessed that DBT was really effective helping many people stabilize and work on building a life worth living, but it seemed not to totally heal shame, disconnection, intense loneliness. So I set out to learn what would bring relief and healing in these areas for people. I did an intensive training in Interpersonal Neurobiology from Dan Siegal – learning how our brains wire through relationships, both for health and protection; and how we can heal (create new neural pathways) from relational pain through connected, secure, attuned relationships. These brilliant people can see we are wired for wellbeing and kindness, even though I do not believe they believe in God. Our brains connect more pathways when we are kind to ourselves and when we are kind to others. I love this. Brilliant design by God. The more connected the different regions of our brains are, the more well-being we experience, even if circumstances haven’t change.

This lead me to the Polyvagal Theory – learning about our nervous system. This is the heart of our lived experience, where responses to life and the world around us typically show up first. Stephen Porges and Deb Dana are the amazing people behind this. Learning to attune to ourselves with kindness and compassion, notice the shift in our states (from regulation, to anxiety, to shut down) can help us to then be better able to recognize what our system needs to come back to homeostasis/regulation/peace and calm; and how to set up our lives – our habits, rituals, moments, days, etc. – in ways that support our system to flourish, thrive, and live with the ease of well-being.

I have now been practicing Counseling since 2010, so about 16 years, at the time of this writing. My current approach is a blend of all of these I’ve talked about – a foundation of a Biblical World View, Christian Spiritual formation practices/disciplines; Interpersonal Neurobiology; Polyvagal Theory; and DBT skills (even though I don’t offer full-fidelity DBT treatment anymore). We incorporate God and practices into session as little or as much as clients want. Treatment is really individualized to you. The most important thing is for you to feel “seen, soothed, safe and secure”  – like I’m getting it and I’m with you, (Interpersonal Neurobiology), which then helps you feel comfortable enough to access what needs healing, the healing process, and moving towards increasing freedom. I have options to offer and you always get to choose what sounds helpful. I pray for my clients before, during and after session. It is an honor to do this work and walk along side people. I really do love it.