I’m a highly dedicated mental health professional with two doctoral degrees—a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD; research doctorate) in Nursing and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP; clinical doctorate)—who is independently licensed with the following certifications: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (PMHNP-BC), Certified Addictions Registered Nurse-Advanced Practice (CARN-AP), and Advanced Practice Holistic Nurse-Board Certified (APHN-BC). For over a decade, I’ve cared for adults facing every challenge imaginable, but with significant experience working with people who have complex challenges and difficulties, including but not limited to challenges overcoming the impacts of severe childhood trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), personality disorders (borderline, narcissistic, schizoid, schizotypal), self-harming and suicidality (thoughts and attempts), mood disorders (depression, bipolar spectrum), anxiety disorders (generalized, panic disorder), obsessive compulsive disorders, psychosomatic conditions, complex medical issues, grief, intermittent psychotic states, and addiction (of all types). Since 2022, I’ve owned and operated a solo private practice in Canandaigua, New York, providing outpatient psychoanalytic psychotherapy to individuals, couples, families, and groups ages 18+ both in person and virtually across the following states I’m licensed in: AK, AZ, CA, FL, MA, MI, & NY. If you are located in a state I am not licensed in and want to start treatment, please get in touch with me to discuss the process of getting licensed in your state of residence.

My health care journey began in Arizona, where I volunteered over 1,000 hours at a local hospital by the age of seventeen. Inspired by the power of healing nurse-patient relationships, I went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with a minor in psychology at the University of Arizona in 2015. While working with psychiatrically hospitalized Veterans, I discovered my passion for psychiatric mental health nursing and recognized my gifts in this area. After graduation, I worked as a board-certified psychiatric-mental health registered nurse and supervisor in hospitals serving adults, active duty military members, Veterans, and children. During this time, I realized that therapeutic relationships are the cornerstone of long-lasting change. While working full-time as a psychiatric mental health nurse, I completed a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in 2018, followed by my PhD and DNP in 2022, with my dissertation focusing on therapeutic relationships in virtual versus in-person care.

Early in my nursing career, I became fascinated by psychoanalysis as I sought to discover the deeper meanings behind my patients’ struggles. I became devoted to learning how to help people understand themselves and make foundational change possible. While in graduate school, I started psychoanalytic immersion in 2018, starting with my own personal psychoanalysis with a seasoned psychoanalyst (with a legacy from Selma Fraiberg, Richard Sterba, and Sigmund Freud). Since 2020, I started formally training with programs at the Psychoanalytic Association of New York (affiliated with New York University; prelude to training program and psychoanalytic fellowship), San Diego Psychoanalytic Center (psychoanalytic fellowship), Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity (one-year intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy program), New York Contemporary Freudian Society (two-year psychoanalytic psychotherapy program), International Psychotherapy Institute (one-year infant observation program), and the Institute of Psychoanalysis (post-foundations program) within the British Psychoanalytical Society. Currently, I am in my second year of Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training & Research’s two-year transference-focused psychotherapy program. I am starting integrated adult/child psychoanalytic training at the Contemporary Freudian Society in Washington, D.C, in Fall 2025 and the couples therapy program at the Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy.

Beyond formal training, I participate in weekly immersion within the psychoanalytic community, including weekly reading groups, peer consultation groups, and individual supervision. In summary, patients greatly benefit from my ongoing dedication to psychoanalysis and commitment to professional development. Currently, I am co-authoring a book about the integration of psychoanalysis and nursing and have authored sixteen peer-reviewed publications, presented at over twenty-five national conferences, taught in undergraduate and graduate mental health nursing programs (Emory University, Michigan State University), and received numerous awards for my scholarship, including over $175,000 in merit scholarships.

Beyond the consultation room, since 2023, I have founded and facilitated the Finley Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Fellowship, where I teach an introductory, year-long psychoanalytic course to other mental health professionals interested in this therapeutic approach and method. While serving on numerous psychoanalytic committees and professional organizations, I founded and chair the Advanced Practice in Nursing Committee at the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA). Locally, I have a mission to share the gifts of psychoanalysis and created and manage the Western New York Psychoanalytic Library to foster access to psychoanalytic literature for this region and also organize the Western New York Study Group affiliated with APsA (please reach out to me if you’re a licensed professional and would like to be involved in our growing community).

In my personal life, I lead a contemplative, nature-centered life on a solar-powered homestead in the woods, where I care for chickens, bees, gardens, and an orchard. In this peaceful place, I find joy in community, cooking, baking, literature and poetry, writing, foraging for wild food, movement (strolling, dance, yoga), music, weaving, visual art, and serving as a non-profit board member. Unsurprisingly, my lifestyle enables me to provide patients with a calm, deep, grounded, holistic perspective.