As a former high school and college athlete, I noticed that while we were given access to strength and fitness coaches and training facilities to improve our physical performance, we weren’t provided with any mental health guidance—the mind is a muscle, but no one was helping us strengthen it. Once aware of this missing element, I became determined to find a solution that would fill in the gaps in an athlete’s support system.

While attending Boston University's “Master of Counseling with a concentration in Sport Psychology” program, I was a teacher’s aid at Cedarhurst School, a therapeutic school for grades 6 through 12 run by Yale University. There, I worked directly with students inside, as well as outside the classroom, to help them regulate their emotions. Seeing the way rapport and trust was able to be developed, as well as the positive impact on students personal growth and improvement in school, it was apparent that a fully-embedded approach to counseling can be beneficial, both in conjunction with traditional therapy, or as a stand alone methodology.

My time at Yale was the impetus for pursuing a career as an Integrated Counselor and ultimately led to the construction of my position at Christchurch School. Boarding and Prep schools are tight knit communities at their core and eliminating some of the traditional barriers between students, teachers, and the professional support systems quickly became a natural extension of the ethos of Christchurch. This holistic approach to life performance counseling allows me to reach all students regardless of where they are emotionally and physically throughout the day.

My goal is never to “fix” anyone, but to empower performers so they develop greater self-awareness and distress tolerance, ultimately maximizing their life performance potential.