LGBT therapists in Fort Walton Beach, FL

Congratulations on your courageous decision to seek help! Self-awareness is the first step to change and I go above and beyond to help those like you who choose to actively help themselves. Understand that the path to self-discovery and growth is not easy. It involves commitment, personal investment, and a desire to delve into the process of growth, healing, and self-love.

I'm a retired veteran, have been working as a social worker/therapist since 2004, and have been in private practice since 2017. I have extensive and successful experience helping people with trauma/PTSD, relationships, boundaries, emotions, domestic violence, sexual trauma, substance abuse, grief, parenting, and more.

With over 20 years of experience in the mental health field, I've had the privilege of working across a wide range of treatment settings, including acute care, non-acute care, residential treatment, and outpatient therapy. I work with adolescents and adults and have experience providing individual and couples therapy.

My primary areas of focus include relationship counseling using the Gottman Method, chronic pain and chronic illness through Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), addiction treatment informed by the work of Dr. Carl Hart, and Borderline Personality Disorder using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

In addition to these specialty areas, I frequently help clients navigate anxiety, panic attacks, depression, life transitions, adjustment disorders, parenting challenges, workplace stress, and the everyday demands that can leave us all feeling overwhelmed!

Seeking therapy can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to face life’s challenges alone. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with over 10 years of experience, I work with children, teens, adults, and couples struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, relationship concerns, stress, and life transitions. I provide a warm, supportive, and nonjudgmental environment where clients feel heard and understood. My goal is to help you gain insight, develop healthy coping skills, and create meaningful, lasting change so you can live a more balanced and fulfilling life.

Therapy with me is very human and genuine. I don’t just focus on what’s painful or stuck but help to highlight the ways in which my clients overcome life's punches. While I take this work seriously, I believe laughter can be healing and disarming in therapy.

I earned my Master’s degree in Counselor Education from Florida International University and have worked in a variety of settings, including the foster care system, residential treatment, and community mental health. My background includes supporting individuals navigating trauma, persistent mental health conditions, substance use, eating disorders, and major life transitions. I’ve also worked with veterans, individuals who are unhoused, and LGBTQIA2S+ clients.

In my practice, I work with clients experiencing anxiety, panic, depression, trauma, identity exploration, relationship challenges, and life transitions. I also support clients with PTSD, some OCD presentations, and concerns related to gender, sexuality, and queer identity. My work is trauma-informed, affirming, and rooted in helping clients feel both emotionally safe and genuinely understood.

I earned an MSW from Tulane School of Social Work in 1989 and am a clinical social worker. I also practice Psychodrama and am a graduate of the Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute in NY. I work primarily with musicians, actors & writers. I have a long history of working in non-profit agencies and schools, providing top notch care to disadvantaged and oppressed adolescents and families.

I am a licensed clinical social worker with 28 years of experience partnering with adolescents, adults of all ages and families. I am bilingual so I offer therapy in english and spanish.

Work with adults, adolescents and children with anxiety and depression. Help in transitional phases of life (work, divorce, sexuality and gender, school etc)