What was hardest was the double life—drinking every night, and then showing up during the day as a holistic health/fitness coach--someone who was supposed to have it together.

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That kind of disconnect takes a toll.

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In Fall 2000, my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  This began my justification to keep depending on alcohol.  After he passed, something in me knew I couldn’t keep going the way I had been.

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Recovery became a real turning point—yet not a simple one.

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After 9 months of intense struggling, I committed to sobriety, found solid support through AA, and began doing deeper work—learning how to be with my emotions instead of numbing them, and how to reconnect with myself in a more honest way.

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Yet it was not until I had two significant relapses directly related to my co-dependent patterns, that I was brought to my knees and found bottom.  These provided proof that I was suffering from worthlessness over my love addiction and abandonment fears.
 

Now I knew firsthand that unhealthy relationship choices lead me back to alcohol and they are intimately intertwined.  I sought help from a psycho-spiritual mentor, therapist, and two therapeutic communities.

In 2011 I was hired by Passages in Malibu to be their sole full-time spiritual counselor—my dream job…which ended when the patriarchy fired all 3 top paid female employees on the same day!
 

The deaths of my brother in 2012 and mother in 2013 motivated me to make my one big move out of Los Angeles to Northern California.  Within 3 months, the overwhelming feelings of rejection from a potential love partner contributed to my final relapse. I had an awakening and undeniably knew I was addicted to alcohol, love and had unhealthy co-dependency issues which activated my destructive behaviors. I went deeper into transformation—working with a therapist, new sponsor, Authentic Relating groups and Refuge Recovery meetings.

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My personal recovery led me to become a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. For the next 9 years I worked in 4 chemical dependency treatment centers, supporting individuals and families through early recovery and beyond.

Eventually, I stepped into private practice so I could work with people in a more personal, ongoing way.

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What I bring to this work isn’t just training. It’s lived experience—  of addiction, of relapse, of grief, of starting over, and of staying.

I understand how complex this process is.
Not just the substance use—but what’s underneath it.

The fear.
The patterns in relationships.
The ways we try to cope when something inside hurts

What I’ve come to see is that real change doesn’t come from force.

It comes from honesty.
From being met where you are.
From learning how to stay with yourself in a new and different way.

Wherever you are in your process--having the right kind of support can make all the difference.