As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I love my job because I get to work alongside individuals who are willing to work on the relationships that matter to them, including the one they have with themselves. This takes courage and it is so meaningful to be able to assist clients through this process.

In my therapy work, I see individuals, couples, and families. I specialize in working with couples and/or relationship issues, anxiety, grief & loss, and trauma. My style as a therapist includes being goal oriented and focused in evidence based practices, while creating an environment that feels comfortable to do this vulnerable and personal work. I believe that if you are investing your time and financial resources in therapy, you deserve a therapist who is invested in creating a treatment plan that is unique to your specific needs and values the importance of offering constructive feedback along the way. I like to collaboratively help clients decide what they want to work on so that we are addressing what they want to talk about, but I can also provide direction based on my clinical expertise.

When working with a Marriage and Family Therapist, we are trained to view an individual within the context of their relationships or “systems”, which includes physical health, emotional health, social relationships, work relationships, family of origin, and spirituality. Some of the evidence-based practices I like to use with individuals are Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I have specialized training in Emotionally Focused Therapy and Gottman Couples Therapy which works especially well with couples and families.

I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, Certified Grief Informed Professional, Certified Family Trauma Professional, and a Certified Experiential Therapist-Level II.

My educational background includes earning my bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation and Human Services with an emphasis on Human Development & Family Studies at Penn State University and a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of San Diego. I have worked in several settings prior to private practice including Collaborative Care working alongside family medicine physicians in San Diego, running Intensive Outpatient groups for aging adults, and facilitating experiential personal growth workshops for individuals and couples at the Breakthrough Program which included working with military couples.

In addition to seeing my regular clients, I enjoy running experiential groups and workshops at Amy Tielemans & Associates with topics ranging from anxiety, grief & loss, and relationship issues.