My approach blends humor and encouragement with the right amount of challenge to help you take meaningful steps forward. I believe you are capable of much more than anxiety wants you to believe– and my job is to help you build the courage to prove that to yourself.

As an exposure therapist, I specialize in helping people navigate anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias.  I hold a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from National Louis University and am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) and National Certified Counselor (NCC).  

Before founding Lionheart, I worked in the OCD & Complex Anxiety Program at Compass Health Center, where I provided intensive exposure therapy for individuals struggling with OCD and severe anxiety disorders. My background also includes experience in outpatient hospital-based programs through Northwestern Medicine, as well as private practice settings focused on anxiety and OCD treatment.  

These experiences have shaped my approach to exposure therapy– one that is grounded in Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) and values creativity, flexibility, and experiential learning.  ERP involves changing how we respond to anxiety by slowly approaching it and learning that we can handle it without avoidance or compulsions.  Some of the most powerful moments in therapy happen when we move beyond talking about fears and begin practicing new ways of facing them.  

While ERP is at the core of my work, I also draw from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).  

ACT helps us learn how to allow space for uncomfortable thoughts and feelings rather than trying to push them away.  When we stop battling anxiety, we can be more present in our lives and continue to move toward what matters.  

CBT can help us step back and notice when the language of our thoughts becomes overly absolute or self-critical.  This can be helpful for certain anxiety disorders, although with OCD we usually can’t reason our way out of obsessions. 

DBT introduces the idea of dialectics: two things can be true at the same time.  Something can feel really uncomfortable, and we can still move forward anyway.  Anxiety often traps us in “but”-- but I’m scared, but what if something goes wrong.  Learning to replace “but” with “and” helps us move forward even when anxiety is present.