I hold a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Denver Seminary (’99) and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University (’02). I have also completed five years of doctoral-level training at Rosemead.

 

I began to sharpen my interests in the natural, but often misunderstood, collision between psychology and theology. In fact, the foundations for what Plena Vita stands were brought to light for me in my time at seminary, and the clinical training I received outside of academia. I began to realize in my training that an understanding of psychology and theology were, at its core, best defined in one’s wrestling with the soul, or psyche, in its classically understood definition. 

 

I continued this pursuit by moving to California for 6 years of training which, besides academia, included many hours of practice in a variety of settings: grade schools, a county hospital, state hospital, residential youth treatment centers, a university counseling center, and finally, in a private practice setting, which included a stint at The Cloud-Townsend Clinic in Newport Beach, CA.

 

I have worked with people of virtually all ages and with a vast array of issues including anxiety, depression, addictions of many kinds, relationship struggles, career concerns, and overall ‘meaning of life’ contemplations.  All of these, I believe, are symptoms of more deeply-rooted issues. This is, by definition of the term, and by the mission of this practice, what Plena Vita is all about. I believe a full life is one that embraces those issues which often go ignored. I believe a full life is a life where we consciously engage what may be driving us into what we more easily identify as problems that need to be fixed. This is, typically, a long-term process. It can be slow-paced. I believe it is a journey that we are called to as humans—to wrestle with how we got here (in the many senses of the word) and what we want to do about it in this life. Further, I believe it to be best to work through this with another human. The dynamics that become apparent in this very human interaction will be a huge part of the healing processes of change, leading to a fuller life—a plena vita.

 

I invite you to sit with me in this journey. I offer a free 1 hour consultation to further explore how this may be a good fit for you and I. I certainly look forward to hearing from you.

 

(720) 515-0081