What I know for now is sometimes I dream really big and sometimes I don't take no for an answer and sometimes I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. •••••••

When I was a little girl, I had so much fun creating businesses. All the businesses had positive vibes, were service oriented and gathered people socializing. One that stood out in my memories was a fun funky coffee shop that sat at the base of a mountain. The skiers would pile in after a long day on the mountain. The coffee shop would be full of conversation pieces from all eras they would reminisce on from 70’s flowered sofas to record players to rocking chairs and things that make us feel and discuss our roots. You see, my family would go skiing every year and I was still too young to go. So for years, I would stay with grandma and this is where the idea of “Conversation Peace” the coffee shop grew. But just as I got old enough to go, my family quit going. Still to this day, I haven't skied in Colorado, I maybe have some resentment still, and I'm not so sure it's my cup of tea. But I can picture myself sitting in the coffee shop around the fireplace waiting for the smiles to come back after a long day all ready to hear the stories from the day. Little did I know that God (and my grandmas I think) had different plans for “Conversation Peace.”

Others often ask what led me down the path of my therapy career. For some reason I don't have a real good answer other than to say, I followed all the signs and plans that spoke to me and I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I started my career working 13 years in child trauma with child abuse and neglect and a portion of that being in downtown KC. It was hard, it was exhausting, I saw many things I can't erase, it stuck with me often and it taught me a lot. It built my passion for trauma work, has led me down a mountain of research, training, and books, and fueled my drive for advocating for strong trauma sensitive systems. I could tell horrible stories of the kids I prayed hard for in those days. They still sometimes make my heart hurt. In 2015, I began therapy work with adults in acute crisis mental health hospitalization. I got to see the full cycle of how trauma plays out into adulthood, the effects and side effects of medication and to understand that wellness is so much more than band aids and temporary fixes. Trauma roots are deep layers with lots of physical and mental repairing. I continued this work in the hospital during C****. I got to see how C**** played out in the hospital while others isolated at home with their families. It divided relationships and caused an unbelievably enormous fear that has stuck in many. Man, I'm not sure why I'm placed right in the middle of it all but I do believe I was made to gain first hand knowledge along my journey for a reason.

In 2021, for some reason, I was drawn back to working with kids after saying I wasn't going back several times. It was sometimes just too hard. I found myself in a completely new system this time, the school system and I’m exactly where I'm supposed to be. I'm still learning in this system. But I've gained so much knowledge and understanding when children with trauma have expectations that are sometimes just too hard for them. They for sure need a team with strong knowledge, structure, consistency and the openness to keep learning. I also got to compare and grow in two different rival school districts and this has made for a trip.

For this school year, I moved to just one of these schools full time. So this summer, I had several families asking about continued services and not being able to find therapy. My heart ached, especially for those I had been with for two years already. I’m also super solution focused so in May and June I hired a private practice coach and opened my own private practice in 6 weeks to have more options for these families. I tossed around several names for the business but I kept coming back to Conversation Peace Wellness. It just seemed to fit and warmed my soul. Therapy really is about conversation leading to peace in the soul. I have big dreams for Conversation Peace Wellness and I've been asked several times what's next. I’m not sure but for now, I'm following the journey and paths laid out for me and I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I'm so thankful I've already started serving several more kids and families in this office. I am so happy with the support I've been given and for those that have reached out. I love having more options to be creative and take deeper dives into wellness. Some plans for CPW include teen workshops and women's socials to discuss mental health, trauma, anxiety, whole body wellness, and parenting. For now, I have just a few more openings for individual therapy alongside working at the school. I’m starting to book into November. I'm really enjoying having options, working deeper in therapy and seeing others on their healing journeys. It's been so good and so rewarding to be working with kids, teens, young adults, and families. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

I can also tell you that through all of this experience, research, training, asking lots of questions, observing and listening to all ages of trauma…we ALL crave deep connection and belonging and well, we could all learn a big lesson in empathy. We are all in this together. The mistakes, the trauma, the maladaptive coping we use to survive, the fight to connect, I'm not sure where the blaming and shaming fits in but I'm pretty sure that’s deep rooted in more maladaptive coping.….we are in this together, lean in, lean in, and lean in some more. That’s where wellness begins…lean in.