I am a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Arizona (LAMFT-10274). I work at A New Beginning, Arizona’s premier outpatient center for the treatment of eating disorders and related issues.

For the past 7 years, I have been providing mental health services to individuals, couples, and families affected by eating disorders and related issues. I am passionate about helping people discover how their relationship with food is intricately and uniquely linked to their own interpersonal relationships with loved ones, past and present.

I also am an adjunct instructor in the Marriage & Family Therapy graduate program at Arizona State University. I teach courses on clinical research, family therapy models and techniques, and normal family development.

I earned both my doctoral degree in Family Science and my master’s degree in Couple and Family Therapy from the University of Maryland, College Park. I have conducted clinical research on eating disorders in ethnic minority women, the relationship between socioeconomic status and disordered eating behaviors, domestic violence in heterosexual relationships, efficacy of family therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, and the effects of social support groups in the treatment of childhood ADHD.

When not conducting therapy or teaching, I am very active in the mental health community. My participation in organizations includes the following:

1. *Secretary and Founding Board Member of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA)
   

2. *Webmaster for the Arizona Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AzAMFT)
   

3. *Active member of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
   

4. *Active member of the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy, and Action (EDC)
   

5. *Active member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
   

6. *Founding Board Member of the Eating Disorder Network of Maryland (EDN)