I grew up in a religious cult with very limiting and harmful beliefs indoctrinated in my mind at a very young age. I was able to leave my family of origin and cult when I was 18, but found myself completely alone and ostracized from my family and friends who grew up in the cult. I started thinking about how our early childhood beliefs dictate how we operate in the world when I obtained my first job at a Goodwill store. A lot of homeless people would come into the Goodwill asking for help, and I started to wonder about why people were homeless. Economic difficulties and challenges aside, I started to notice certain beliefs around those in poverty that they didn't deserve to have good things in their lives, or that life was supposed to be hard. I noticed a stark contrast in beliefs of my coworkers and others that were able to function "normally" in society. I worked in retail and then customer service for years before obtaining my BA degree in Social Sciences at University of WA in 2016. In 2017 I had the opportunity to work in a crisis shelter while obtaining my masters degree in Counseling. I noticed very quickly that all of our clients in crisis had a history of childhood abuse, and had to overcome terrible adversity to just survive. In my studies through my masters program I learned about core beliefs developing in early childhood, and brain development and realized that I wanted to dedicate my life to helping others who have suffered abuse and neglect identify and change negative core beliefs. I received my Masters of Arts in Counseling in 2019, my EMDR training from the EMDR institute in 2021 and EMDR certification in 2023. I worked in community mental health for 4.5 years before starting my private practice.