About Me

I am a licensed psychologist, coach, and research consultant who has lived experiences as a queer, non-binary, neurodivergent, recovering PhD student. My aim is to help people in whatever format makes sense for them, focusing on their perspectives and values. That can look like individual or relational therapy, executive functioning or dissertation coaching, research or clinical consultation, or supervision. I am a KPACT member (Kink and Polyamory Aware Chicago Therapists) and have specialized training working with somatic regulation, neurodivergence, substance use/abuse and harm reduction, self-harm/suicidal ideation, and chronic conditions. I believe the personal and the professional are political; I work to center decolonization in all forms of work. Also, fuck ICE, free Palestine.

My cat, The Professor, sometimes acts as my co-therapist if that’s okay with you. She can also be invited to leave if too distracting. While I can promise she has completed many supervised clinical hours, if you have concerns about her credentials please let me know and we can discuss them as needed.

When I’m not working, I love cooking, reading, traveling, and community-building. I’ve been practicing cooking from scratch so I can make big meals cheaply for larger groups of people. I love teaching others how to cook with more affordable ingredients as a form of resistance. I am from and now again living in Chicago, IL with my wife and The Professor.

Extra background training/timeline information:

I went to University of IL at Chicago (UIC) and got an Applied Psychology (minor Gender & Womens’ Studies) BA, then applied to grad programs, after which I had a gap year continuing working in restaurants and reapplying for grad school. I completed my PhD in Counseling Psychology (doctoral minor in Applied Statistics and Research Methodology, see my dissertation here!) from University of Northern Colorado (UNC), including an APA-accredited internship in the Counseling Center of Colorado State University (CSU; trained in higher-acuity care, integrated health, disordered eating, and the overlap of neurodivergence and trans identity).

I moved back to Chicago for a post-doctoral fellowship specializing in working with queer and kinky individuals and couples/relational groups. Then we needed money and my wife (and my cat, and I) took a year-long job offer in Naples, Italy. While living in Italy, I started building this business, applied for licensure (woof, that exam), worked on recovering from burn out, met with coaching clients, and acted as a research consultant.

Now we have moved back to Chicago and I’m working on building my case load, currently only via telehealth. If you think we might work well together, this is a good time to let me know so we will be more likely to find a timeslot that works for both of us. I hope we get to meet soon!