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Background
I have been practicing Marital and Family Therapy in the Anchorage, Alaska, area since 1976. After teaching for seven years, during my "first life", I returned to graduate school to pursue a Master's Degree in counseling. After graduating and then completing a year of Post Master's coursework, specifically in the field of Marital and Family Therapy, I moved from North Dakota. Settling in Alaska with my new husband, two children and dog I began my Marital and Family Therapy Private Practice working with the Anchorage Children's Center.
I took a break from private practice when Providence Hospital opened their Mental Health Unit in 1982. While working with the Social Services Department I was part of a multidisciplinary team that organized the Mental Health Inpatient Treatment Program. I did individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, supervision and training on the Mental Health Unit.
I returned to private practice in 1986. During the preceding years in private practice I also did agency contract work and worked with a multi-disciplinary treatment team at Charter North.
I was very involved with beginning the Alaska Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a division of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. I served as a board member and officer on many occasions. I was also involved with regional work for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Many hours were spent during the ten years prior to 1994 attempting to gain licensing for marital and family therapists in Alaska. Finally in 1994 the Alaska State Legislature passed our licensing bill and it became part of the Alaskan Statutes. For seven years I served as chairperson for the Board of Marital and Family Therapy.
As the years have passed I have become more and more interested in working with couples. Life as we experience it in our society creates many road blocks to having a successful, satisfying relationship. I believe the couple relationship is one of the most satisfying experiences of our adult life and many of us received very little training in how to be a good partner. Our own families being the "training ground" for marriage often didn't provide us with the skill building that is necessary to maneuver the path of a satisfying, long term relationship. As we continue our journey with another person many opportunities appear to challenge us to face ourselves and determine how we can be a better partner. For parents, the investment we make today in our couple relationship will have far reaching effects as our children grow up and find their own life partner.
My training as well as my life experiences have molded my professional identity as a marriage and family therapist and it is of utmost importance for me to maintain a consciousness about the differences that each and every client presents. We each have our own individual story and map that we bring to our relationship journey.
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Credentials
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Alaska - License # 03
AAMFT - American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy
Clinical Member
Fellow 1988
Education
Bachelors Degree: University of North Dakota, Education 1966
Masters Degree: University of North Dakota, Counseling with a Marriage and Family focus, 1974
Post Master Work : University of North Dakota, 1974-76
Florida State University, Interdivisional Doctorial Program in Marriage and Family Therapy, 1975
Extensive Continuing Education over the past 26 years in the area of Marital and Family Therapy .
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Alaska - License #03
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