Pronounced “DAY-lith”

About Me:

PERSONALITY: I’m very authentic, understanding, non-judgmental, friendly, transparent, straight-forward, kind, engaged, accommodating, creative, silly, goofy, and fun (not that you’d know it from this bullet-point list!) I’m always ready to admit if I made a mistake and I love learning. Flexibility used to be my #1 superpower, but now I think vulnerability has moved into first place.

HOBBIES: I love painting, drawing, graphic design, pottery, baking, cooking, sewing, calligraphy, woodburning, reading, writing, vintage cars, trees, flowers, animals, disc golf, hiking, and quite a few geeky things.

MY “ID”: I am neurodivergent (ADHD), was successfully married to an autistic person, and am a strong advocate for the “Nothing About Us Without Us” movement. This is why I have ongoing consultation with autistic children, adults, and various autistic professionals - including counselors. I am a cis-gender white female, and I humbly recognize that I have been extended a lot of privilege in my life.

PARENTING: I have extensive experience in parenting a child with multiple disabilities, in navigating school and healthcare systems for my family, and therefore I also have extensive experience in navigating caregiver burnout/compassion fatigue. 

EDUCATION/WORK: I graduated with my master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adams State University in 2024. Prior to counseling I taught special education in elementary and middle schools and held administrative positions in various medical and state agencies. In addition to my counseling degree, I have a master’s degree in Teaching (Special Education) and a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and in painting.

VOLUNTEER/OTHER VENTURES: I offer parent advocacy and educational consulting services for families navigating special education within the public school system. I also volunteer and sit on the board of directors for a non-profit that has dedicated itself to helping formerly incarcerated persons, and have done a crap-ton of advocacy and volunteer work for individuals with developmental disabilities and autism especially. Oh, I also spend a good amount of my time writing letters to various organizations and State agencies asking for them to consider changing what they are doing or how they are doing it.

Types of Therapy I Offer:

• INDIVIDUAL: In-person, and Virtual/Telehealth

• FAMILY: In-person for low-acuity family therapy needs. *Limited

• COUPLES: Primarily reserved for couples that consist of one or multiple autistic adults (including undiagnosed, suspected, or officially diagnosed.) *Limited

DIVERSITY NOTE: I welcome diversity in all ways, including but not limited to: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, spiritual/religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, size, ability/disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, criminal background, and behavior. Family and couples counseling welcomes all of the many types of families that exist; chosen, blended, multigenerational, mixed, and LGBTQIA+.

Types of Needs I Work With:

I have experience and/or training working with (suspected or formally diagnosed):

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Autism

• ADHD

• PTSD / C-PTSD

• PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance, aka Persistent Drive for Autonomy)

• OCD

• Behavioral and Substance Addiction Issues

• Chronic Pain/Medical Needs

• Relationship Challenges

• Grief & Loss

• Trauma

• Self-harm

AUTISM THERAPY: I specialize in Neurodivergence-Affirming Therapy and have specialty training to work with autistics of all ages (I choose to use identify-first language, please click here for more information about why I made this decision. 

• Strengths-based approach (not the medical model)

• Focus is NOT on behavioralism and do NOT utilize the foundations of ABA therapy (please click here for more information about my decision to avoid behaviorism-based approaches)

• Relationship-based (not compliance-based)

• Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist

• In-process for certification as an Autplay Therapy Play® therapist

• I also offer couples counseling where one or both people are autistic

AUTISM DIAGNOSIS: I specialize in diagnosis of Nuanced Presentation Autism (or, Less Observable Presentation) for adolescents and adults, with focus on diagnosis for females or those assigned female at birth.