It is my honor and privilege to welcome you to Connect and Restore. On September 1, 2016, I rented one room at 55th and Lewis to take a leap of faith into private counseling practice. From that day, with just me, one room and a handful of clients, we have grown exponentially into a private counseling and neurofeedback practice where my team and I are blessed to provide integrated and collaborative care for hundreds of children and adults each week.
As the owner and founder of Connect and Restore, I have always been passionate about providing a place where people come before profits, where our clients are cared for as if they are family, and where excellence abounds in both staff and services. These principles drive my professional “why,” as well as my personal desire to provide a safe, empathetic, compassionate environment for healing to take place. Without a doubt, I am incredibly privileged to get to come to work every day and combine my two greatest loves, connecting with people and restoring lives.
In 1993, I received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of North Texas, and spent 15 years as a coach and teacher in public, private, and homeschool settings. In 2004, I entered graduate school at Oklahoma State University and received a master’s degree in Counseling (2008) with both School and Community emphasis. For my first professional job after graduate school, I was a school counselor in a local mid-high, but I eventually transitioned into outpatient mental health in order to work more directly with children and families.
Over the years, I have earned status as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor, Registered Play Therapist, TBRI Educator, Infant Mental Health Endorsed Level 3 Therapist, and Board-Certified Neurofeedback practitioner, working in a variety of school-based, non-profit, and agency settings. I am also a trained Circle of Security Facilitator and a certified Oklahoma teacher and school counselor.
Although I always thought I would work exclusively with children ages 0-18, the move into private practice allowed me the flexibility to see adults as well, which I have enjoyed significantly. My current focus of practice is counseling and play therapy with children 0-18, as well as neurofeedback with children and adults ages 4 and up. An additional passion as of late has been individualized cognitive training and task-based neurofeedback to build executive function in children and adults and reduce the need for stimulant medications for ADHD diagnoses. I am also extremely fortunate to be able to teach and train local school districts, churches, and educators across the country on effective ways to build connections, foster positive relationships, and reduce discipline problems.
My counseling training includes EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Theraplay© Levels I, II and Group, Trust-Based Relational Intervention, Child-Centered Play Therapy, Filial Play Therapy, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Circle of Security, Making Sense of Your Worth, and Somatic Integration and Processing, and Brainspotting. I am also a neurofeedback mentor through Biofeedback Certification International Alliance and am trained to provide a variety of types QEEG-guided neurofeedback. I have particular expertise in using a combination of attachment-based therapy and neurofeedback to facilitate significant behavioral changes in children who have been adopted or fostered domestically and internationally. Additionally, I am certified in Integrated Listening Systems Safe and Sound Protocol based on polyvagal theory and enjoy offering this brain-based intervention for children and adults.
A wife for over 25 years and a busy mother of four children, I also have developed specific interests and knowledge in issues I have personally encountered with my own children through the years. With an older daughter who was severely dyslexic and anxious, a middle son struggling with the mental challenges of being a collegiate competitive athlete with severe ADHD, identical twin parenting challenges, and working with the highly and profoundly gifted, I have encountered on a personal level a wide variety of challenges in raising children. As such, it is my joy to come alongside parents to find the best path forward for their children, to help them discover their unique gifts and to help them reach their greatest potential.
When I am not serving clients or staff at Connect and Restore or busy spending time with my husband and kids, I enjoy serving in my faith community, attending Bible study, and getting back to my dancing roots by judging competitions, mentoring coaches, and attending the performances of my high school dance team (and a former team that I coached), the Union Highsteppers; my college dance team, the Kilgore College Rangerettes; and my former professional dance team, the Dallas Mavericks Dancers.