About

ABOUT ME:

My family is filled with musicians. Dad played drums, mom was a singer, and I aspired to do both.  Instead of accepting my parents offer to send me to college, I chose to join a local band instead. While recording songs and trying to “hit the big time”, I held down my first job at a local factory where I began sewing lamp shades one after one after one.  The two things I liked most about this monotonous job is that it freed up my mind to create song lyrics while on the job and that it paid for my first drum set.  Not long after, my aunt started a bus company and was in need of school bus drivers. I thought, “Great! Dropping kids off at school in the morning and bringing them home at the end of the day opens up my entire afternoon to hone my drum skills.”  I got my CDL and was on my way.  Although my neighbors weren’t thrilled, I thought it was pretty cool.  That was, until I moved out of my parent’s house and had to pay bills on my own.  This is when I landed a job managing a building products center, a place I got paid very well and worked with some of the best people I've ever known.  

After playing the local music circuit for some time, I began getting called to auditions from NYC to LA.  Before you know, I was touring the US on a national level. I met a lot of famous people and worked with some of the best musicians ever.  However, living out of a suitcase was getting old and being away from family was feeling cold, so I decided to settle down and head off to college to get the answer to the one question I’ve been asking my entire life, “why do people do the things they do?”

I began my studies in human behavior at Keystone College, where I received a bachelor's in psychology/criminal justice.  The staff at Keystone was amazing and guided me through accomplishing much more than an education.  My professors taught me to believe in myself the way they believed in me.  This seemingly small lesson changed my life forever.  I recognized the ways in which altering my thoughts about myself has affected my own behavior (and life).  This sparked my interest in mental health counseling and years later ‘increasing self-esteem’ came to be one of my noteworthy specialties. 

I went on to further my education at Marywood University where I was awarded a scholarship/graduate assistantship, managed two psychology research labs, and achieved my master's degree in clinical psychology.  During this time, I had taken a position as an adjunct profession at Keystone College where I taught Psychopathology and Social Psychology to many wonderful students, some of whom I see working in the mental health field today.  I continued a post master's education in mental health counseling at The University of Scranton and obtained licensure as professional counselor in the state of PA.  I spent 6 years providing psychological services to inmates throughout the state prison system and 8 years working as a therapist at various private practices throughout the area.  In 2015 I started my own practice, Peace of Mind NEPA, where we provide comprehensive care with a personal and compassionate attention to detail in working with individuals, couples, families, and groups in person and online.  

I devote my life to helping others overcome their greatest challenges, many of which I myself have been able to conquer.  There's no greater feeling than that moment in witnessing a client for their first time coming to the realization that they DO have the power to make positive changes in their lives!