Who I Work With

Athletes — Before, During, and After

I tend to see athletes at three points.

Some are still deciding: high schoolers touring campuses, weighing offers, and trying to work out whether they actually want to play in college or whether everyone around them wants it for them. Recruitment can be stressful for the whole family.

Some are in it: college athletes balancing school, training, competition, and expectations from coaches and family. They may have trouble getting out of their own heads long enough to play the way they know they can.

And some have stopped, through graduation, injury, or a decision to move on. Leaving a sport can change your daily routine, relationships, and sense of who you are. It can involve grief, relief, or both.

As a former Division I golfer, I understand how deeply athletics can shape a life. We work on the immediate pressures and the larger questions about perfectionism, expectations, and who you are outside your sport.

Overthinking and Rejection Sensitivity

Some people leave a conversation and keep replaying it. Did that land wrong? Was my tone off? They reread a message they already sent, send another to clarify, or ask a friend whether it sounded bad. The relief may be brief before the questions start again.

For some, this is part of rejection sensitivity: criticism, possible rejection, or a sense of having disappointed someone can feel especially painful and hard to let go of.

Part of our work may be practicing how to leave some uncertainty alone. That might mean sending a message without repeatedly editing it, or letting it stand without a follow-up explanation. We choose these exercises together, based on the checking and second-guessing that are getting in your way. These can look like small changes from the outside. They may take real work, and I help you through it.

College Students and Young Adults

The years between eighteen and thirty ask people to make decisions they do not always have enough information to make. I work with students and young adults on anxiety, ADHD, identity and belonging, relationship stress, and family expectations. Becoming more independent often means figuring out what you want while hearing a lot about what you should want.

With telehealth, students who begin working with me before college can continue from campus in eligible states.

Men

Many men feel pressure to succeed, look and act a certain way, while also being discouraged from talking about how those expectations affect them. That leaves a lot to manage privately.

I see this at different ages—from young men navigating dating and relationships to men in middle age and beyond who have learned to keep certain experiences to themselves. Part of our work is sorting out which expectations reflect what you want, which you have taken on from other people, and what you want to do about them.

Food and Body

Food and body image concerns can also be part of our work together. I use an intuitive eating, weight-inclusive approach. With athletes, we may explore the eating habits and body expectations developed through years in a sport, including what changes after they stop competing.

My Approach

I like getting to know my clients—their stories, their relationships, and how they see things. Clients tell me I am supportive and encouraging, and I want people to feel understood as we work on things that have become painful or difficult.

Sometimes our work involves staying with an uncomfortable thought or feeling without immediately trying to settle it. We might practice leaving a question about someone’s opinion of you unanswered for a while, noticing the urge to check or ask for reassurance. We choose these steps together. I help you talk through what comes up and support you as you practice. It can be hard, and we make room to talk about that, too.

We may also focus on the pressures that come with athletics, performance, and high expectations. This can include working through perfectionism, fear of failure, confidence concerns, burnout, injury, or the challenge of balancing sports with school, relationships, and the rest of your life. We can explore what happens when your sense of self becomes closely tied to performance and work toward developing a more flexible, compassionate relationship with yourself.

For some clients, our work may center on difficult or complicated relationships with parents. We might talk about feeling criticized, misunderstood, pressured, or responsible for meeting expectations that do not feel like your own. Together, we can make space for the impact of those relationships while considering boundaries, communication, grief, anger, and what you want your relationships to look like moving forward.

My approach draws from cognitive behavioral and interpersonal therapies, including exposure-based interventions. We may use imagery, mindfulness, and practical strategies alongside conversations about your relationships, history, and the expectations you live with. We work toward helping you feel more in control of how you respond when a difficult thought or feeling shows up, while also helping you better understand your needs, values, and goals.

Background

I earned my PhD and master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Louisville and completed my predoctoral internship at the University of Florida. I completed focused training in exposure therapy through the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. During my postdoctoral fellowship at Wesleyan University, I worked with student-athletes on intuitive eating and food and body image concerns. Before becoming a psychologist, I played Division I golf.

A Little About Me

I love musical theatre and could happily watch a performance of Hamilton every week. I’ve also always loved creating harmony with other musicians. Saxophone was my strong suit, but I love learning about any instrument. I once taught myself trumpet when the band I played in needed someone for the part.