Hello, My name is Joanie, thanks for taking the time to stop by. I am a Marriage and Family Therapist here in Fresno CA.  I was a transplant to Fresno many years ago. When I moved here, I quickly appreciated this community with all of its diversity, rich agricultural roots and the small town feel in a large city. I am also an avid backpacker and lover of the outdoors, so I especially love the close proximity to some of the most beautiful places in the world.

I earned my master’s degree at Fresno Pacific University which allowed for study in the field of marriage and family therapy with a faith integration component.  As a Christian, I found that to be valuable, as have my clients who come with a faith they desire to incorporate in their therapy.  I am not a Christian counselor; I am open to working with people of all faiths or no faith.  When it is important to my client we discuss matters of faith and how that impacts their personal experiences. 

About My Work

I love working with adults at all stages of life, as well as couples (dating and married) and running groups. I work a lot with the areas of difficult family relationships; the work can be with whole families, couples or individuals.  In my experience, my clients have found it incredibly helpful on a practical level and also healing on an emotional level to do this work.  Together, we take the time to reflect on childhood experiences, family rules and dynamics and how all of those experiences shaped us. I often share the famous quote with my clients, “what we don’t repair we repeat”.   Working with me provides an opportunity to repair those places in our lives that have held pain, difficulty and conflicted relationships. Engaging this work helps us become the people we want to be and enjoy the relationships we want to have.