Foster kid turned Therapist

It doesn’t require someone to experience trauma to treat trauma. However, it can be comforting to know the person/people you are vulnerable with has experience with trauma. I lived in long-term foster care (legally my parents were the state) in the state of Washington from the age of 12 to 21. I lived in multiple homes. This experience was highly impactful, influential and the cornerstone to who I am today and how I drive my clinical practice by healing with a trauma-informed lens. The first word of my practice is homage to my experience in foster care and my passion for connecting, holding and exploring with my client’s. I disclose my lived experience because, I believe, it is essential to reveal who I am as a clinician and how I operate my practice to those who choose me to be their therapist. My story is also public and can be found online. I have used my story and experience in child welfare to advocate for past, current, and future foster youth in advocacy, where I published a policy report with recommendations and engage in public speaking to members of Congress and the White House in 2016.

Publication - Powerful Voices: Sharing Our Stories to Reform Child Welfare - Extended Foster Care and Re Entry: Increasing Success for Older Foster Youth