Who I Am

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here.

I’m Karen. I am “Mama” to twin toddlers. My body is tired, but how else would I remember to delight in trash trucks and dandelion seeds? Whether it’s a new recipe or painting a bookshelf rescued from the side of the road, I love a project. It always requires at least one extra trip to the store, and high-intensity project-mode frustration has its own special burn, but it’s so satisfying to finish something new. My fondest high school memories all have to do with musical theater productions (performing, of course), and my dream job was summer camp counselor. 

Growing up, the familiar voices on All Things Considered kept my family informed about wars and disasters. Hearing about the suffering of strangers hit me hard. In my kid and teen years, that certainly made me weird. In this job, it’s a pre-req.

Wanting to help the people affected by those newsworthy crises, I studied sociology and peacebuilding, Arabic and Spanish. As I spent time in parts of the world where the threat of violence hummed constantly in the background, I began to recognize its message, “You are alone; you are small; you are weak; this is all there is.” 

I understood political movements as resistance to oppression, but the human piece was a mystery. How could people possibly recover themselves–find themselves at all–when the violence was so loud?

I became a child trauma therapist, and, in the decade that I’ve been doing this work, the mystery of “healing” has started to reveal itself. It’s a delicate process, but it’s not so surprising, after all.

First, we need to know that someone has our backs, and we are not alone. Then, together, with kindness, courage, and playfulness, we can face the hurt, the shame, the “what if it happens again.” We (re)discover that we can do things; we are not so small after all, and we might even be powerful. We accept that some parts of us will always be vulnerable; we are living creatures, after all. Joy, curiosity, and creativity start to find a way in. 

I have been providing trauma-informed therapy to children and teens in schools and clinics in Montgomery County, MD since 2017. I spent five years at the Tree House, Montgomery County’s Child Advocacy Center, working exclusively with child and teen victims of sexual and physical abuse, domestic violence, and neglect. 

As a specialist in sexual abuse trauma, I learned that the incident(s) of abuse are not the only part that needs attention in therapy. How family and friends responded when they found out. What happened when child welfare or the police got involved. The intensity of testifying at trial or writing a victim impact statement. What it’s like to go through puberty, try dating, or just decide what clothing to wear. After abuse, so many parts need tending.

I have advanced training in the leading therapy models for child trauma survivors, and I continue learn and adapt treatment the where the models don’t quite fit, including:

• Honoring cultural practices and beliefs that impact parenting decisions, spiritual and existential beliefs, family and community belonging, and just about everything else
• Appreciating the strain of living in racialized and gendered bodies in a racist, patriarchal society
• Recognizing and responding to dissociative reactions in kids and teens 
• Treating clients with functional neurological disorder
• Meeting the needs of Autistic and ADHD kids with traumatic stress, through a neurodiversity-affirming lens
• Supporting children and teens with minority gender identities and sexualities 
• Strengthening caregiver-child (“attachment”) relationships, particularly for children who have been adopted or otherwise experienced separation from their birth family

Want to know how I might approach the challenges your kid is facing?