After 6 years in the army, I came home in 2006.  A tour in Iraq motivated me to return to school and pursue a career path in healthcare.  I worked at VCU Health Systems for 15 years as an Oncology Nurse and loved working with patients and their families during their difficult journey.  They were newly diagnosed with leukemias and lymphomas or experienced complications of their care while in treatments for other cancers and I felt like I helped them through this trauma. Between my time in the Army and as an oncology nurse, I spent a lot of time with people at their best and saw them at their most challenging moments. Those experiences have helped to shape my outlook on life as well as medicine, and I made the decision to go back to school and change my focus to mental health.  It is my hope to help people engage and find contentment in their lives prior to being confronted with a life-changing moment like a cancer diagnosis.  I realize that we all come with our own stories and have travelled our own paths; my goal is to meet you wherever you are on that path and work with you to get you where you want to go.

 

What brought me to Monarch Mental Health and Wellness were the pieces of our logo: Growth, Love, Strength, Healing, and the Golden Crown. Each of us is on a journey, and it is my honor to join you along the way.  We all deserve self-love and an understanding of our strength and potential.   I can help patients both realize their growth and help them continue to flourish.  Most importantly, we all deserve to heal compassion.  The COVID pandemic has renewed our appreciation of the challenges we each face, but it has also brought to light that much more healing needs to occur.   I hope to bring mind, body and spirit together, through medication management, therapy and health promotion.  Let me help you move forward on the path of self-discovery and acceptance, growth and healing.  I look forward to walking with you on your individual journey.

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