ABOUT
MY PRACTICE
As a 20+ year meditator and 15+ year psychologist, I am uniquely situated to work with the intersection of these 2 disciplines. Combining these two informs all of my clinical and meditation work. I utilize a philosophy of service delivery where my compassionate, holistic, and integrative approach to understanding the complexities of learning is enriched by the empathy, compassion and patience I have cultivated teaching and practicing meditation. In the assessment arena, adults, parents, and children enjoy the calm, empathic, and measured approach I bring to assessment work. Children in particular respond well to the warmth and confidence that my meditation work allows me to bring into testing sessions. My years of clinical training and practice in psychology allow me to understand many of the common struggles that meditators face that relate to emotional well-being. Thus, my meditation instruction is equally influenced by my clinical work and resultant understanding of emotional and cognitive processes, growth, and development.
All sessions, including testing sessions, are now offered virtually via video chat. This allows me to serve a much wider client population. Additionally, clients who live in remote areas can have the benefit of top-level assessment and consultation work without needing to travel to a larger city.
BIO
I completed my undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University, and earned my Ph.D. in psychology from Texas Woman’s University in 2005. During graduate school, I trained in the cognitive, educational and personality assessment of children and adults. During my doctoral internship, I worked with a wide range of ages, from young children to older adults, performing assessments and diagnostic work as well as conducting therapy. Following my internship, I was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at Wichita State University where I continued my specialized training in cognitive and neuropsychological assessment of ADHD and Learning Disabilities.
In 2008, I began my private assessment and consultation practice in Austin, TX and have over 15 years of experience working in this area. During this time, I have worked with many institutions providing specialized assessments for Learning Disabilities and ADD/ADHD, including ADD Health and Wellness Centers, Inc., Scottish Rite Learning Center, and Rawson Saunders School. I also provide nationwide consultation on learning differences and assessments for other practitioners and parents who need assistance understanding their child’s diagnostic testing.
I began meditating in 2001 when I was in graduate school. I was introduced to the benefits of using and teaching mindfulness to psychotherapy clients and was deeply impressed by the research documenting improvement in clients’ well-being when meditation was part of their therapy treatment. I completed my meditation teacher training in the spring of 2019. While I enjoy teaching meditation to clients, my other true passion is teaching it to mental health practitioners. I believe that as “helpers” it is crucial that we work diligently to maintain our own mental health and meditation is one of the best and most accessible ways to do this.