About Tess.
For as long as I can remember, I have always loved stories: the stories we learn and pass down from our family, the stories we create when embarking on a new adventure or endeavor, the stories we read in school, and ultimately the stories we tell ourselves. This fascination with storytelling was coupled with a drive to understand why people acted and behaved the way they did. As I grew up, this love of stories was coupled with a growing love of questions, and a curiosity for how two people experiencing the same moment may have vastly different lived experiences and perspectives.
While attending Boston College, I pursued my interest in stories through a major in English literature, while also enrolling in as many psychology courses as possible. After graduation, I felt lost as to what to do with my career and my life. For the first time, I didn’t have a roadmap as to the “right” next step, which fostered feelings of doubt and shame. I began working for a travel startup for a few years that
ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied and overworked before transitioning to work in higher education. Leaving a role that left me chronically unsatisfied to accept a job that excited me and brought me back to my favorite space (the learning space). This was the first step in trusting my gut, and moving towards ongoing personal growth and vulnerability. While working at Harvard University, surrounded by innovation and the deep questions I had grown up loving and asking, I recognized a longing within me to
return to school to pursue a doctorate in Psychology. I began taking night courses to confirm the hunch that this was the path I had been seeking for myself.
I subsequently completed my Masters and Doctorate at the University of Denver’s doctoral program in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.). I have worked in myriad settings throughout my training, including teaching hospitals, community mental health
centers, primary care settings, university counseling centers, and private practice settings. I completed my pre-doctoral internship in Bozeman, Montana at Montana State University providing ongoing individual and couples counseling. I completed my post-doctoral training at Artemis Psychology, a group practice in Denver, CO, where I saw a range of individuals and couples navigating a variety of concerns such as grief and loss, post-partum and parenting challenges, as well as relationship ambivalence and conflict. I am Gottman Level I trained and enjoy using Gottman interventions, as well as EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) strategies to help couples heal their disconnections and negative cycles.
I see my work not as “job” but rather as a vocational gift that allows me to connect with others on a deep level to better understand the roots of their obstacles and uncertainties. Søren Kierkegaard, one of the great philosophical thinkers, remarked that life is lived forward but can only be understood backwards; my approach to therapy follows this line of thinking and encourages you and I to work to understand important past relationships, experiences, and events that may influence how you show up today in relationship to others and yourself. I would describe my approach as collaborative, authentic, warm, and when needed, challenging. To enter into therapy is a vulnerable and oftentimes intimidating endeavor and commitment, and I deeply value and honor my clients’ willingness to explore themselves in this way. My hope is that your therapy experience will be one of insight and healing through which you are empowered to implement the changes you are craving in your life.