About Counseling
Something is different here.
When you walk through the door to my office, you will feel it right away. My office is not sterile but rather a warm environment with comfortable furniture and meaningful art.
You have arrived at a place where you as a whole person will receive engagement. You will feel like all of you is welcome – the parts of you that you love and the parts of you that you maybe don’t like at all.
Your accomplishments, hard work, and success are welcome. But your embarrassment, failures, and even shame will also find a place of support and care here.
You have arrived for the work of transformation. When you embark on this path, all of you is welcome.
There is no judgment here.
When you are out in the world, judgment is everywhere. So often, the world tells us that we are not enough, even amid great success. And how are we made to feel when life isn’t going well?
Here, there is no judgment – only care. My office is a place where you will learn to feel safe and cared for, perhaps for the first time in your life.
Transformation begins to happen when you feel heard and respected without any judgment. Those hard feelings inside you start to soften, and your judgment toward yourself fades. The barriers you thought were insurmountable are now approachable.
As you recognize your actual strength and connect with your powerful wisdom, you begin to feel better, and the world around you looks and feels better, too!
Talking starts the transformation.
We accomplish this transformation by having a conversation and listening to what you have to say.
This transformation results from learning to see yourself clearly – with a generous heart.
Waking up to your long-buried inner life caused by life’s pressures is part of the transformation.
About Me
My journey took many paths.
My 6th birthday party was at the Art Institute of Chicago. My mom brought the cards from the Masterpiece board game, each with a painting in the collection, divided them among my friends, and the search began. I have never stopped searching.
During college at Yale University, I soaked up everything I could about the history of art and architecture; in 1987, I earned a BA in the History of Art.
After that, the reality of making a living came calling, and off to the University of Pennsylvania Law School I went. The JD certainly strengthened my left brain and helped support my family, but my right brain still yearned to create. So, after a few years working in a large Chicago law firm, an opportunity to blend the left and right sides of my brain appeared.
In 1997, I joined a Chicago residential development company, creating townhomes and condominium communities all over Chicago. During my 15 years in the real estate industry, I used construction, marketing, finance, law, and human resources as tools to create giant living sculptures.
I discovered what was missing.
I loved my work, but my work did not fulfill me. Business success can be incredible, and I loved landing the next great job or deal, building tall buildings, negotiating a great path forward, and creating work for clients.
All of this was good stuff, but what happens when the rush ends? What happens when the world doesn’t turn out the way you planned?
When the great recession of 2009 turned my world upside down, I decided to embark on a new journey that led me to tap into my life experiences, leading me on a journey to promote transformation in others.
So back to school again, this time at Northwestern for an MA in Counseling. All the pieces of this challenging and joyful journey came together, and now, I use these fully lived life experiences to guide and support others.
And so here I am, ready to work with you. Let’s get your transformation underway.