I have spent nearly 40 years discovering and learning about alternative forms of therapy. I live what I teach and consider The Art of Emotional Connection to be my life’s work. I have a passion for working with groups, individuals and couples who seek personal growth, Wellness education and Spiritual development. A lot of what I do is born out of an innate gift of intuitive ability. Since I was a young child I had the ability to “hear” beyond people’s words. I had a “sense” of what was going on inside of them on a deeper level. I now call this sense “inner self talk”. This ability was passed down to me from my Grandmother. Unfortunately her powerful gift of intuition was not understood or recognized in her time. In her later years she was institutionalized.

My Mother also had the gift but again it was not recognized and she hid it for fear of being perceived as “crazy”. She was also institutionalized for a short period of time. Because of the stigma of my family’s “mental illness”, it wasn’t until I was well into my adult years before I started acknowledging and utilizing my gift. 

Growing up in the 1960’s I was part of the sub-culture that was exploring new paradigms of thinking and being. In 1966 when I was 18 years old, my father had his first heart attack. This was shocking to me not only for the obvious reasons but also because my father never drank, smoked or did any of the things that were believed at the time to cause heart disease. In later years before his death he revealed to me that he was a very unhappy man. I didn’t know it at the time but this was the beginning of my inquiry into the body-mind connection.

In 1973 when I was 25, I started attending Primal Scream Therapy. I was involved with this work for 6 years. It was here that I got my first experience of how the body and mind influence each other. Since I was a young child I had suffered from chronic digestive problems and abdominal pain. At the age of 20, I was diagnosed with hiatal hernia which doctor’s said didn’t appear in people until they were well into their 40’s. In Primal Scream Therapy I had the opportunity to get in touch with and release the deeply held anger that was in my body. During this work my digestive problems subsided significantly and eventually went away. Primal Scream was considered a radical new therapy at the time, and indeed it was, but it was limited in its understanding of emotional regression. It was effective at discharging deep-seated anger but it was also confrontational and sometimes violent in its approach. Nevertheless, through it I gained a valuable experience that would impact my later years.   

I watched my father struggle with his illness for 11 years before he finally died in 1977. During this time, I became frustrated and disillusioned by the medical model of health care. I wanted to learn about alternative ways to relieve the discomforts of heart disease. However, in the 1970’s schools were not readily available to teach about herbal remedies and other forms of non-allopathic methods. My life continued on. I started working for American Airlines and had the opportunity to travel all over the world. Seeing other cultures and being exposed to different ideas continued to open my mind and stimulate my curiosity about life. During this time, I also became a Licensed Real Estate agent, Mortgage Broker and investor. 

1986 was a pivotal point in my life when all the money I had was stolen by a group of con artists in a Real Estate scam. During my recovery from this devastating experience, I again began pursuing my passion for alternative healing. I started extensively researching everything that I could find on the subject of alternative forms of healing. I became an avid reader and started taking every workshop available; Herbal Remedies, Bach Flowers, Fasting and Detoxification, Vitamin & Mineral Therapy, Colon Therapy, Hands on Healing including Reiki and Medical Qi Gong, Yoga, Dance and Movement Therapy, Sound Healing, Hypnotherapy, etc. I delved into the spiritual realm and studied Shamanic Healing, Soul Retrieval and Wicca. During this period of time my Mother was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. She lost a leg from the disease and I took care of her for 2 years. I started ordering organic herbs through the mail and also grew them in my backyard and treated her with herbal remedies that I made at home. 
 
In 1993, I started pursuing a degree to become a doctor of Naturopathy. I also opened Full Circle Wholistic Health & Spiritual Center (now called Full Circle Wellness Center) and started working full time as a Wholistic Health Counselor. Three months later my Mother died. Out of my Mother’s passing I realized that I needed to bond with and cultivate relationships with women so I started leading Women’s Circles and Retreats.

In 1997 I reconnected with my intuitive ability when I started studying with Carolyn Myss, a world renowned Medical Intuitive. Studying with Carolyn helped me to own my gift of intuition and use it in a more effective way with my clients.

1998 was yet another pivotal point in my life when I was introduced to John Lee and his work known as P.E.E.R. (Primary Emotional Energy Recovery). He and his teachings had a significant impact on my life and greatly influenced the work I was doing with my clients. PEER became my personal healing path and study for the next 7 years. It re-introduced me to emotional release work and greatly expanded my understanding of the healing I experienced while doing Primal Scream Therapy. I came to clearly understand the body-mind connection and the role repressed emotions play in the manifestation of disease. My practice shifted away from treating the body’s symptoms and focused primarily on the emotional aspect of healing.