I’ve been around since 1954, so, if you do the math, you can figure out how old I am. That’s important, because age can sometimes affect one’s perspective on life issues. I frequently am told that I seem younger than I actually am, which pleases me, primarily because I like to think of myself as staying in touch with contemporary times and issues, as well as keeping youthful looks and energy. However, I have to use wisdom in counseling, so I am proud to be able to offer ever-evolving maturity to you.

I study constantly—and my interests vary greatly. At the moment, I am a counselor who specializes in hypnotherapy and issues that involve the unconscious mind. I also have a lot of training and experience working in the area of relationships. I became a certified hypnotherapist in 1997, and have been taking periodic hypnotherapy trainings since then. Because I use self-hypnosis and meditation in my personal life and tend to be intuitive, it has been natural for me to learn how to use hypnosis with my clients for fast recovery and healing insights. I am presently focusing my energies in gaining even more skills in the area of hypnotherapy, as well as techniques used by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. If you are interested in this, please contact me for more information on this aspect of my counseling practice.

Backing up a little from the present, I spent seven years focusing my energies on learning another very complicated area of counseling—relationship therapy. My latest pursuit in this area of counseling was one of sex therapy. Since sexual issues reflect one’s relationship similar to the way a mirror does, I wanted to be able to competently address the issue of sex in relationship therapy. I also wanted formal education on counseling gay and lesbian relationships. I obtained a certification in sex therapy in 2000, and finished a PhD from Maimonides University, Miami in clinical sexology in 2002. My dissertation involved exploring contemporary notions of femininity and masculinity, which evolved out of my earlier desire to become proficient in relationship dynamics and counseling.

Backing up further, my interest in relationship counseling peaked when I fell in love and married David Weir (in 1994). Since he was already a relationship counselor when we got together, it seemed natural that we could present this work together as a team. We studied John Gray’s Mars-Venus approach to couple’s counseling, and became a Mars-Venus counseling center from 1997 until 2003. Since our mission is to present a well-rounded approach to relationship counseling, we have studied other relationship theorists over the years and now include many other approaches, as well. However, I give John Gray credit for helping me gain important perspectives and skills in relationship therapy, as well as general counseling issues, and his work remains prominent in my counseling.

Backing up yet further, you won’t truly know me until you know that I have been a wilderness woman since 1991. Yes, one of the most important aspects of my life, other than my marriage to David, is my wilderness survival interest. During my counseling masters program (USF, 1989-93), my car engine blew and left me stranded in the Florida Panhandle. As a result of that scary experience (along with a coincidental fact that I had a wilderness survival book in my car, which I read while my car was being repaired), I attended Tom Brown’s Tracker School in Asbury, NJ. I gained so much self-esteem and self-empowerment from that training that I continued to train and put myself on a mission to teach other women how to survive in nature, which I called Women In The Wilderness. (The logo that accompanies my counseling page relates to this mission.) After twelve wonderful years as a Florida wilderness woman, I decided to move to where the wilderness therapy action is—Utah!  I now work in the wilderness therapy industry in my “medicine place.” Watch for women’s outings and therapeutic nature workshops in Utah, as they evolve. Please contact me for more information if you are interested in this.

Finally, prior to my life as a counselor in private practice, I was and still am a licensed occupational therapist. I graduated with a B.S. in Occupational Therapy in 1976 (University of Louisiana at Monroe) and worked in many different areas of treatment, settings, and populations of patients, from infants to geriatrics. Although I worked primarily in rehabilitation, I learned so much about the developmental process and recovery that occupational therapy is still reflected in my counseling work. Problem-solving on a patient’s life functioning in the event of change is the primary role of an occupational therapist, and the skills I developed early in my career have helped mold me into an effective mental health counselor.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know me. I try to make my clients comfortable in my cozy office, and am a gentle spirit. However, I am sharp and fun-loving and enjoy bringing humor into the issues whenever appropriate. You can expect me to address lifestyle patterns, such as health practices and fitness, because I feel strongly that the body and the mind work together in recovery. Since I have a medical background, and am a fitness enthusiast, I feel competent to work with clients on body-related concerns. Please consult my counseling page for more specific information on my services and professional affiliations.