Hi! My name is Kerry and I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Arizona! I have known since high school that I wanted to be a therapist and am living out God’s purpose for my life. I grew up in California as a “PK,” or pastor’s kid in the church, became a Christian at age 4, and was baptized 4 years later. My faith has always been important to me. I grew up playing sports, became most successful in softball, and played in college. I faced some challenges, trauma, and mental health issues growing up and into college which led me to seek my own counseling services. Experiencing counseling from a warm, nurturing, empathic Christian was such a healing process for me, that I was determined to provide others with the same experience and healing. I pursued a BA in Psychology and got married out of college. I completed half of my doctorate when I became pregnant with my only child and decided to quickly get my MA in Marriage and Family Therapy to join the workforce. I worked at a group home for abused/neglected children, as a school counselor, at a community center for underserved populations, and with victims of domestic violence. I held my dream job when things began to decline in my marriage, I was cheated on, attended couples counseling, and I filed for divorce after 10 years. Sadly, I had to leave my job, family, friends, and move to Arizona when my son was 5-6 years old and I have lived here since then. I gained experience as a mental health consultant for licensed day cares in Arizona, I became a “birth to five specialist” writing court reports, I worked with children (age 2.5 and up) who had been removed from their homes and placed in foster care, at a Christian counseling center with couples, individuals, and families, and started my own private practice. I remarried and after 4 years, my husband abandoned our family. We tried to work it out for 6 more years, when things ended for good. I’ve been a single mom to my son ever since. My son played high school football, earned a scholarship to play football in college in Iowa, and I’m now an “empty nester.” I go to church weekly, attend and help lead a women’s Bible study weekly, attend another church group each week, volunteer with my church’s kids sports program weekly, and volunteer in the community (especially with the homeless) quarterly. I recently took the leap of moving my practice to faith-based to serve those people who want to follow God and grow closer in thier relationship with Jesus, who also need to experience the healing and growth that can only come through the power of Jesus Christ. We are all more alike than we are different and I don’t have the answers- God does. I walk alongside clients on thier journeys, help carry thier burdens, feel with them, support them, and offer them hope.
NOTE: I only see client’s virtually, or via tele-health at this time. I have the ability and training to provide services to toddlers, tweens, and teens, and to provide E.M.D.R. But due to my current “virtual-only” practice, and the standard’s of “best practices,” I am unable to see those populations or provide EMDR at this time. Once I afford and obtain my own physical office space (I do not have a timeline or timeframe for this), I will begin seeing children/adolescents and providing E.M.D.R services again. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
