Story, Symbol and the Long Memory of the Body

Alongside my clinical work, I have spent a lifetime studying mythology, folklore, spirituality, ritual and the ways human beings create meaning from suffering, love, loss and transformation. I am particularly drawn to Celtic traditions, ancestral wisdom, folk practices, depth psychology and the stories that have helped people navigate life's thresholds for generations.

Again and again, I have witnessed something remarkable: People do not heal through information alone. They heal through relationship. Through story, Through meaning, Through being witnessed, Through finding language for experiences that once felt unspeakable.

This understanding eventually became Anam Hearth.

Why Anam Hearth Exists

Anam Hearth was born from the belief that healing is not only psychological, but embodied, relational, symbolic, ancestral and deeply human. Humans have always gathered around the fire to tell stories, grieve losses, seek guidance, celebrate milestones and make meaning from difficult seasons of life.

The hearth has always been more than a place of warmth. It is a place of transformation. A place of remembering. A place of return.

Anam Hearth exists to carry that spirit forward in a way that is trauma-informed, grounded and accessible to modern life.

Beyond the Office

When I am not working, you will often find me studying mythology and folklore, wandering through forests and old cemeteries, tending seasonal rituals, researching local history, reading far too many books at once, practicing yoga, sitting beside a fire or spending time with the people and animals I love.

I am endlessly curious about stories. Personal stories, ancestral stories, cultural stories and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

I believe healing can be profound without being solemn.

That grief and gratitude often sit at the same table.

That laughter belongs in healing spaces.

And that some of the most important transformations happen not through force, but through gentle, persistent tending.

Lived Knowing

I come from a chaotic, grief-filled, and turbulent childhood. I learned early how to read rooms, tend fires that were not mine and survive emotional weather that never fully cleared. Like many who walk this path, I have known trauma from the inside, including eating disorders, self-medication, neurodivergence and the long, nonlinear work of healing what was never safely held.

I do not share this because it makes me special. I share it because it makes me capable. I know how shame hides. I know how survival strategies save lives and later ask to be released. I know how grief changes shape over decades. I know how humor can coexist with devastation. And I know that healing does not arrive as purity, transcendence, or constant light. Healing arrives as steadiness, truth, and the ability to remain present in one’s own life. Healing arrives in becoming.

For nearly two decades I have worked as a therapist, supervisor, educator and program leader in behavioral health settings, helping individuals and families navigate trauma, addiction, eating disorders, neurodivergence, chronic illness, anxiety, grief and major life transitions.

My clinical work is trauma-informed, relational and deeply integrative, drawing from approaches including:

• Somatic and mindfulness-based therapies

• Attachment-based approaches

• EMDR

• Internal Family Systems (IFS)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

Over the years, I have also trained extensively in embodiment practices, yoga, meditation, energy healing and trauma-informed approaches to mind-body integration.

I am a:

• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

• Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS)

• Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CAADC)

• Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP)

• Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-500)

• Reiki Master Teacher

• Meditation Facilitator

I continue to study with teachers from many traditions, believing that wisdom is rarely found in a single discipline.

Ancestral Path & Becoming

My spiritual path is ancestral, animistic and devotional. I walk with Celtic lineages that honor the wild feminine, the dark divine creatrix, the hag and the healer, the cauldron and the threshold. These traditions do not separate grief from gratitude, nor light from shadow. They understand that what decomposes becomes fertile.

This way of knowing informs how I live, how I teach, and how I heal. Anam Hearth was born from this understanding: that healing requires both skill and soul, both science and story, both laughter and lament.

The Work Behind the Work