Welcome

My name is Karen.  I counsel young children, adolescents, adults, couples, co-parents, and families. My work includes grief and loss, trauma, adjustment to family structure changes – divorce, separation, and new partner, and helping individuals learn to manage intense feelings, communicate, and resolve conflicts more effectively. I enjoy facilitating changes in individuals, co-parents, and families so that people grow and experience relationships differently. When I am not working, I visit my children on the East Coast, raise my “wolf”, and decorate. 

EDUCATION

I earned a BA degree from the University of California, Davis (major: Psychology; minor: Education) and an MS degree from the California State University, Stanislaus (major: Counseling Psychology). I wrote my thesis on attachment: “The Effects of Parental Cognitions, Child Temperament, and Life Stress on Security of Attachment.” Because I came from a family of counselors, psychologists, and criminal justice professionals, I often tell people that my training started during my adolescence. 

WORK HISTORY 

For nearly 15 years, I have worked as a manager for Sacramento County, Department of Health Services while providing individual and family counseling in my private practice part-time.  Eight years of my work with Sacramento County, I  coordinating homeless services for community-based organizations who serve individuals dealing with co-occurring behavioral health and substance use disorders.  During the past seven years, I worked for the Division of Primary Health managing the Refugee Health Clinic, supervising a multidisciplinary medical team, managing the Refugee Health Clinic operations, and writing grants to support the program.  

A couple of years ago, I reduced my work at the County to only writing grants in order to pursue my dream of becoming a private Child Custody Recommending Counselor/Mediator.