Reaching Milestones: My Expertise
Marathon runners don’t wake up the day of the race and decide to become a runner. The decision to run happened months before. Those months involved countless runs, pushing mile after mile, gaining strength and stamina. Without this diligent training, those 26.2 miles would be impossible to finish.
Exploring a personal issue, a family crisis, the loss of a loved one, or a legal case can feel like a marathon. As with running, it takes diligence, patience, and persistence to overcome the challenge you’re facing. My goal is to help my clients develop those skills.
I provide therapy to individuals, couples, and families in my private practice. I also consult on legal cases as an expert witness, providing litigation services. I supervise those seeking licensure, give presentations and seminars, and teach locally at the university level. Whether I’m conducting therapy sessions for individuals or families, consulting on a legal case, training or educating professionals on loss and grief, or supervising new therapists, I enjoy all the various aspects of my career and appreciate the experience of working with diverse groups of people.
Why I Love What I Do
I am continually inspired when I see my clients and supervisees make significant breakthroughs. These breakthroughs could happen by resolving a personal issue, healing a broken relationship, helping a community deal with loss, or watching my supervisees develop the skills needed to be successful therapists.
I also find it rewarding to lend my family social science expertise to the other areas of my work. It is an honor to aid in legal outcomes, particularly when a grieving family shares their unique story with me and finds comfort in being heard. Additionally, giving presentations to professionals and communities allows me to connect with more than one family at a time; dispelling the detrimental myths about loss and grieving empowers people to move forward successfully.
My life's passion is helping people attain their goals. It's an honor to celebrate each milestone my clients reach.
My Credentials and Experience
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, clinical member and approved supervisor for the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). I am also a Minnesota State Board approved supervisor. I obtained my doctorate in family social science, specializing in marriage and family therapy, from the University of Minnesota, and have been in clinical and private practice since 1999.
I am an expert in family loss and grief, with training and experience working with ambiguous loss. I regularly serve as an expert witness nationwide for wrongful death claims, personal injury suits, and ambiguous loss cases. Additionally, I conduct training seminars and give presentations to various professionals and community groups.
Additionally, I've taught a variety of courses at the University of Minnesota and at Saint Mary’s University, where I am an adjunct faculty member. My work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, and I’ve been invited to speak at industry and legal conferences, as well as for special interest groups.
For more details, you can download my full CV.
Connect with Me
I am passionate about my work and value the connections I make with my clients. My goal is to use my skills and expertise to help you cross the milestones in your life. Please explore my website to learn more or give me a call at (763) 237-2053. I look forward to hearing from you!