Services Offerred
Individual Counseling for Parents of Children With Complex Needs
From the first moments you imagined your child as part of your family, you certainly couldn’t have anticipated that your parenting journey would be commingled with navigating caregiving, special needs, or medical complexity. Yet here you are, with a heart full of love greater than you could have ever imagined, for a child who is so, so much more than their diagnosis.
I recognize that parents who are caring for children with complex needs have a unique experience. Perhaps you are running on empty after months—or years—of appointments, uncertainty, and emotional heaviness. Perhaps you are grieving the life you once imagined, while showing up every day for the one unfolding in front of you. Perhaps you are feeling discouraged in your efforts to help your child thrive in a world that’s far from disability affirming.
Parents caring for a child with special and complex needs can feel overwhelmed with this experience, and share how isolating and daunting it can be to also tend to themselves, their relationships, or their other children.
I know this is vulnerable work. It's ok to not be sure how you'll handle it all. It's ok to agree that you need to prioritize yourself, but not be sure what this could look like. In our time together, I'll provide a judgement free space for you to share your frustrations, find ways to build resilience, and explore what it means to care for yourself in the context of your unique and beautiful family.
And, in our work, know that I look forward to celebrating with you all the ways your child’s love and personality brings magic to the world.
Individual Grief Counseling
If you are finding this page because the death of a someone you love has left you reeling, I recognize that I can’t even imagine to know exactly what you’re experiencing right now.
I can however, imagine that in the time since your loss, you perhaps have been offered condolences that have felt much too simple to honor the complexity and depth of your emotions. Or that you’ve felt stuck in slow motion while flabbergasted by a world that has the nerve to continue bustling around you. Perhaps you are feeling pressure to be a rock amongst others around you, while mustering every last ounce of energy for the simplest of tasks.
The fact is, grief is never simple. Sometimes, it can feel especially hard if you had a complicated relationship with the person who died, if their death was sudden or traumatic, or if you are experiencing grief with a mental health or neurodevelopmental diagnosis. Usually, grievers find that grief does not fit into the tidy predictable stages that maybe they expected it to. Grief is hard because it honors the relationship you will always have for your special person - one that is dynamic, and powerful, and that is forever connecting.
And, if you are grieving while also parenting a child who is also grieving the same loss, life can feel even more complex. Your child's reactions during this time may be quite different from your own and they are navigating their own experience. I'm committed to ensuring that you have the information and support you need to help them walk their own path.
My goal as your grief counselor is to provide space to explore all of the complicated and hard feelings. In our time together, your grief will be honored - not rushed, fixed, or compared. I'll offer you safety, kindness, and warmth as you share your story and we will work together to pull threads of strength and comfort from your memories.
Professional Supervision and Consultation
Starting in the fall of 2025, I will be available to provide clinical supervision for CSWA's in the state of Oregon who are working towards full licensure. Preference given to CSWA's working in adult or pediatric hospice, palliative care, or grief-focused settings.
Additionally, I have extensive experience in teaching about grief and loss, and am available for consultation or presentations to healthcare professionals and/or therapists seeking expertise on supporting grieving families and individuals. Possible topics could include navigating developmental considerations or family systems, intracities of complicated and prolonged grief diagnoses, the how-to’s of providing anticipatory guidance, disenfranchised or non-death loss, or self-care. Please reach out to discuss the needs of your practice or organization and receive an estimate for services.