My passion for social work was born at the intersection of a 15-year career teaching self-defense at an elite level and my own personal experiences with mental health. I currently work as a clinical therapist at a community mental-health clinic where I work with clients across the lifespan who are struggling with myriad mental health and environmental challenges, while specializing in treating clients affected by anxiety disorders and OCD.During the second half of my former career in self-defense I worked exclusively with children and women — particularly survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault and intimate partner violence — innovating a teaching modality that fused trauma-informed principles with reality-based self-defense techniques. I had the opportunity to share my unique approach to personal safety and empowerment with corporate clients such as Netflix and Athleta, as well as with dozens of popular print, online and television broadcast platforms such as Good Morning America, Forbes, NY Times, and POPSUGAR.While I loved empowering clients through personal safety, I longed to work with individuals and groups on a deeper level emotionally, mentally and psychologically. I used the pandemic shutdown as my opportunity to enroll in Fordham University’s Master of Social Work program and became a Licensed Master Social Worker in 2023. Having spent the majority of my life competing at a national level in two equestrian sports, I now spend my limited spare time bopping through the woods on my emotional support horse, Monkey. In the future, I would love to integrate equine-assisted psychotherapy into my clinical therapy practice with children, adolescents and young adults struggling with anxiety disorders and OCD.
Listed skills include Fitness Training, Functional Training, Kickboxing, Boxing, and 15 others.