Integrator, curious, creative, passionate for rituals of life, lover of nature, game nights, movie marathons, good coffee, chimichurri on a grilled steak, fan of animals, teacher, companion in crisis, explorer of faith after crisis, mom, wife.
Chaplain,
Occupational Therapist,
Spiritual Director
I know… I sound a little….eccentric? I kind of like it that way. My experiences, education, and professions have paved a winding path which collectively merge into work that is deeply meaningful to me and a unique offering to our world.
I am currently a Resident Chaplain at a level 1 trauma center. Formerly, I served as the Executive Director of Living Aspen, a nonprofit helping women and men heal from abuse by addressing the needs of the body, soul, and spirit in a self-directed, integrated process. I am also a trained Spiritual Director, author, writer, speaker and preacher.
My educational achievements include a BS in Communications, MS in Occupational Therapy and am completing my Master’s of Divinity. I continue my education through seminars on the intersectionality of religion, spirituality, and health.
CHAPLAIN –
A chaplain is one who companions a soul through the challenges and graces of life. A chaplain is trained to deeply listen to an individual, family, or group and aid their process through crisis of body, soul, and spirit.
From the Association for Professional Chaplains:
“A chaplain is an individual who is ordained or endorsed by a faith group to provide chaplaincy care in diverse settings including, but not limited to, hospitals, corrections, long-term care, sports teams, palliative care, military, hospices, workplaces, mental health and universities.
Chaplaincy care is care provided by a board certified chaplain, associate certified chaplain or by a student in an accredited clinical pastoral education (CPE) program. Examples of such care include emotional, spiritual, religious, pastoral, ethical, and/or existential care. Chaplaincy care is grounded in initiating, developing and deepening, and bringing to an appropriate close, a mutual and empathic relationship with the patient/client, family, and/ or staff. The development of a genuine relationship is at the core of chaplaincy care and underpins, even enables, all the other dimensions of chaplaincy care to occur.”
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST –
An occupational therapist is trained to evaluate the whole person through the bio-psycho-social model of care so they may help individuals return to activities in their life that bring meaning and fulfillment.
From the American Occupational Therapist Association:
“Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations). Occupational therapy practitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent—or live better with—injury, illness, or disability.”
SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR –
Spiritual Direction is a time of holy listening. It is a sacred time of being deeply listened to while the Director notices and highlights how God is emerging in your story, inviting you to journey deeper, listen closer, and find your being with God. Spiritual Direction is an invitation for everyone and is particularly helpful for those feeling isolated, in a season of discerning about life, questioning faith, or finding it hard to connect with God.
From the Spiritual Direction Instititute (SDI)
“Spiritual companionship is a relationship in which a companion allows through deep listening the spiritual story of the other to unfurl. Through this relationship, the person seeking companionship is empowered to explore a deeper relationship with God, Allah, Tao, The Universe, or however you may refer to the Ground of All Being.”