Hi! I am a licensed psychologist from Lafayette, Louisiana. I am grateful to have called New Orleans home since 2008 when I began my undergraduate psychology studies at the University of New Orleans. I opened Attune Psychology in January 2022 guided by a commitment to affirming, evidence-based, and liberatory psychological care.

I practice as both a clinical and community psychologist. Clinically, I offer evidence-based, culturally attuned assessment and psychotherapy for adults. As a community psychologist, I conduct community-engaged research, facilitate community care, and engage in community-based organizing. I appreciate the ways in which the psychological services I offer for my clients are informed by the community-based collaborations I engage in, and vice versa.

For the past five years I have served as a core organizer for TIDAL New Orleans, a community collective focused on transgender and gender expansive health equity. For TIDAL, I have offered program development and assessment, organizational consultation, grant writing, and training development and facilitation. Currently, I am the Co-Principal Investigator for TIDAL’s research study, “‘Community Care is Our Own Salvation’: Community-Based Resilience and Healing for Trans Communities Surviving Natural Disasters in Louisiana,” funded by Tulane University’s Center for Public Service. I also serve as a core organizer for QT Care House, a community collective cultivating sustainable community care services for multiply marginalized 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

I am an Adjunct Professor for The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University’s APA Accredited Clinical Psychology Doctorate Program, where I have taught courses on consultation, supervision, trauma therapy, professional identity development, culturally attuned care, and community psychology. I appreciate opportunities to facilitate student co-mentorship and collaborative learning. Through my work with TIDAL, I co-developed a research internship offering training and mentorship in community-engaged research to local undergraduate students. I appreciate opportunities to support emerging health care professionals in developing a values-aligned, culturally authentic professional identity and regularly serve as a guest lecturer for training programs. Most recently, I guest lectured for predoctoral interns at LSUHSC and for practicum students at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

I served a two-year term on the Executive Board of the American Psychological Association’s Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, including as Program Chair for the 2022 APA Convention.

Academic Background

I received a Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Psychology in 2018 and a Doctorate of Psychology (PsyD) in 2020 from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University (APA accredited), where I served as co-founder for the program’s first student organization.

For my dissertation research I facilitated free community-based workshops for couples/partnerships, in order to examine the impact of mindfulness and acceptance practices on the effectiveness of relationship therapy. This research began with a comprehensive review of the literature on how mindfulness impacts neuropsychological functioning, with a focus on relational functioning, emotional regulation, and executive functioning. After the workshops, participant data indicated that those who learned more about mindfulness and acceptance were significantly more likely to still be practicing the healthy relationship strategies from the workshop, including three months later. Through this work I established a passion and growing expertise for the assessment of executive functioning, embodiment and acceptance-based therapies, and community-based care and research.

I completed a Doctoral Internship at Wake Forest University Counseling Center (APA accredited) which emphasized clinical services such as psychotherapy, crisis interventions, and diagnostic assessment, as well as community-based services like programming, coalition building, and community care. I then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the VA North Texas Healthcare System (APA accredited), where I continued practicing clinical and community psychology, focusing on clinical care provision, consultation, and advocacy for marginalized Veterans and their families.

Additional clinical training highlights:

• Diagnostic assessment practicum at CrescentCare Health and Wellness

• Intermediate and advanced therapy practica at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center of New Orleans

• Advanced training in mindfulness, self-compassion, and acceptance at the Beck Institute

• Advanced training in couples and relationship therapy at the Center for Relationships

credentials

MA and PsyD in Clinical Psychology (APA Accredited)

Louisiana license number: 1655

Texas license number: 38680

Please see CV for further detail.