My journey into the addiction field has been shaped by both personal and professional experiences that have fueled my passion for helping others. Over the past two years, I worked in Intensive Outpatient Programs, providing individual and group therapy to clients during my schooling. I've had the privilege of learning that addictions typically have other underlying mental health issues, like anxiety or trauma. Throughout my work, I’ve continued to advocate for the inclusion of trauma-informed care in addiction therapy, recognizing the deep connection between trauma and substance use. This perspective has shaped how I approach my sessions, ensuring that my clients feel heard, validated, and supported wherever they are in their therapeutic journey. One of my core beliefs is that recovery is a journey, and my goal is to make that journey as smooth and empowering as possible, whether I’m working with individuals or families affected by substance use. Along with helping current clients with addictions, they face and want to address in an individual therapy setting instead of a program, I also work at a recovery center located in Colorado to continue my passion for addiction therapy.  

I wanted to pursue clinical social work for this topic specifically. I have always been able to understand mental health well and naturally help people reach their goals. From my personal and professional experiences throughout my career, I believe that I have a good understanding of how to integrate multiple therapeutic modalities. Being a therapist has been a long-term goal for me, but especially being a Clinical Social Worker. I chose my graduate program at the University of Denver specifically for its heavy trauma and mental health pathway focus I could choose when deciding the route I wanted to take my social work career. My goal is to help clients process their trauma and grow from it instead of letting it control them and their lives. Erasing the mental health stigma that society holds onto still today is a huge motivator for me to continue learning about new ways to address mental health issues. Stigma can impact many individuals from reaching out to a therapist despite the "Mental Health Boom" our society has seen in the last ten years.

I always strive to help women as a social worker and use my advocacy skills for domestic violence victims, single-mother households, and women's rights. There have been many Senate and Congress rulings that aim to take women's rights a step backwards from what past generations fought to earn rights to. As a social worker, I ensure that I keep myself educated in health science research and mental health research, like understanding new studies that emerge each month. It is especially important because women are being properly studied today, and this has only begun over the last ten years. There has been a staggering amount of research that has come out about women not being seen or heard enough in medical spaces. This includes the mental health space. I have experience with late diagnosis ADHD in adulthood for women and help bring new research surrounding this to my clients who have suffered from the societal pressure of behaving or presenting a certain way.  At Clare Connection Therapeutic Care, I strive to make my practice a safe space for all individuals' wellness journeys to begin and thrive, with emphasis on the importance of advocating for women and vulnerable populations.

I integrate CBT into our sessions often, as it is a great way to challenge limiting beliefs about yourself that could be holding you back from your potential. Within our sense of self, we have many positive things we know about ourselves. "I am kind" and "I am a good person" are examples of healthy beliefs. As we go through life and experiences, those beliefs are clouded by hurtful core beliefs about ourselves. "I am not worthy of love," "I am a mistake," and "I am a failure" are examples. CBT helps participants to participate in challenge their thoughts and aims to teach you skills to stop the thoughts from spiraling out of control and further confirming your negative core beliefs about yourself. The way we speak to ourselves every day has more impact on our subconscious than people realize.