Where is your office located?

Authentic Gains is now completely virtual for California clients.

Authentic Gains has a physical Idaho office at 172 S. Academy Ave, Suite 150, Eagle Idaho 83616

What are your hours?

We are open Monday through Thursday by appointment between the hours of 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Normal sessions are 45-50 minutes long.

Why should I come to therapy?

Therapy is an investment in your emotional wellbeing.  It’s really hard to put a dollar amount on peace!

Getting quality therapy from an experienced and certified professional is much different than therapy with a newly licensed or generalist therapist.  When investing in therapy with me, you can feel assured that you are receiving the value of my 21 years of clinical expertise. Why would you trust your emotional well being to just anyone?

When Life is crumbling and emotions are at their peak, it takes a well seasoned clinician to help you move from “survival mode” to “successful living mode.” It’s a mindset shift, and yet surely more affordable than the cost of divorce, or the havoc that anger, resentment, and anxiety bring to relationships.

What happens if I miss an appointment?

Time is a valuable commodity. To ensure the best use of our time, Authentic Gains has a strict 24-hour advanced notice cancellation policy. Emergencies happen, so we offer One – “Second Chance.” However, the second time this happens, Authentic Gains will charge the credit card on file for the missed appointment. If a pre-paid package was purchased, a session will be deducted from the package.

Is Authentic Gains the right fit for you?

My focus is helping Men, Women and Mature teens make authentic gains in the areas of their life that cause them stress, anxiety, depression and relational dissatisfaction.

Society set the rules, of course you followed them, and great success was achieved. Win-Win, right? Yet status, control, and high expectations have a dark side. It deprives us of sleep, interferes with relationships, and an inner critic screams “I’m not enough.”

Rest is something saved for another day. Time with loved ones will happen when all the to-do-list items have been checked off. Yet the list is never complete; time is never found; and loneliness, resentment, and fear live beneath the surface.

Today’s world breeds perfectionism. Social media and airbrushed models have only facilitated identity crisis. Teens don’t have a chance to graduate unscathed from the pressures of success. Is the GPA high enough? Did my SAT/ACT score meet the minimum expectation for the university of choice?

Let’s face it, Society has created a world filled with critics and expectations most can’t live up to. It’s no wonder anxiety and depression are at an all-time high and teen suicide rates are higher than ever before.

Parents are living longer, kids are taking longer to launch, and the dream of “Joyful Empty Nesting” has been squashed between two generations that demand your time, energy, and resources.

If you’re nodding in agreement with any of these scenarios, we’re a Good Fit!

Together we will navigate how your current symptoms are connected with negative core beliefs from your past.  We will uncover what lurks beneath that tough exterior and help you find your voice to ask for what you need with healthy boundaries.  It won’t be easy, but I  guarantee it will challenge you while integrating your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

It will get mucky! But who wants to stay stuck in the swamp without a headlamp or a roadmap? Consider this a “Spartan Training Camp” to the land of joyful living, whole-hearted, self-compassion, and emotional freedom.

Why Trust Me?

For 21 years as a clinical social worker, I’ve walked in the trenches with 100s of individuals facing fear, addiction, crisis, life transitions, illness, grief, and loss. After raising three teenagers and all the fun challenges that brings… I concluded, “Nothing is more vulnerable than being responsible for someone’s life and wondering if you were enough?”

Family addiction played a role in my childhood, yet I believed it “made me stronger.” After all, responsibility and achievement weren’t such bad traits, right? I later found myself paralyzed in a marriage with an alcoholic and was “too afraid to move.” Oh, the irony… The Great Perfectionist with the successful career who appeared to control everything… lived every day with the fear of what people would say if they found out. It’s funny… you can’t change others, but you can change you!

Incredible freedom came when I made the decision to face fear and dive into the ugliness of life. That’s when I was introduced to Dr. Brené Brown, and her work taught me to live life. Changing my thoughts changed everything! Fortunately, sobriety found my husband six years ago at the most crucial time in my life. Thankfully, he was my rock when both of my parents were diagnosed with terminal illness and died 20 months apart.

As life would have it..we were challenged again when two of our 3 adult children came out at different times as members of the LGBTQIA community.  I know first hand what it feels like to want to support them well, while wrestling with all the emotions inside.  I also understand that parents need to do their own work.

As a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator and LCSW with 21 years of clinical and life experience, I am passionate about teaching the power of owning your story… All of it! There’s no freedom in the “Christmas Card Perfect” script. Nobody’s life looks like that all the time. Setting others free from their own self-imposed expectations and allowing them to Own It, Speak It, and Release It has become my mission.

Now that you know I’m imperfect, too, let’s get started helping you learn how to make Authentic Gains in your life.

Questions You’re Afraid to Ask –

Does asking for help mean I’m weak and really screwed up?

No, it means you had more courage than many others who think they’ve got it all together.

I’m not excited about sitting on a couch and having someone nod at me and say, “Tell me more.” How is therapy with you different?

This is not the stereotypical lay-on-the-couch-and-tell-me-about-your-childhood memories kind of therapy… it’s much more interactive and EMDR helps to get to the source much faster than typical talk therapy.

How can I show vulnerability? My staff would eat me alive and lose respect for me.

Staff often find supervisors more human and approachable when vulnerability is modeled. It gives subordinates permission to be more open and honest.