About Me

I began my career in scholarly publishing at the University of Minnesota Press after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English literature and American studies in 2007. My work with authors ignited my curiosity about how relationships develop, how people make sense of their worlds, and how writing and identity are so often fused together. I became deeply interested in blending psychoanalytic theory with how systems of oppression create trauma for many marginalized people.

In 2010 I founded a reading group that focused on contemporary psychoanalytic theory, and in 2011 I began volunteering at Walk-In Counseling Center as a receptionist and at the Neighborhood Involvement Program’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Center as a crisis counselor. In 2012, I enrolled in the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work program with an emphasis in clinical mental health.

Throughout this time, I continued my work at the University of Minnesota Press. I was promoted to Humanities Editor in 2014 (the first woman and youngest person to hold this position) where I became responsible for acquiring titles in a range of fields, including queer and trans studies, critical race and ethnic studies, feminist philosophy, disability studies, and childhood studies. Many of the books I acquired emphasize radical understandings of social justice and have gone on to win national and international awards.

I graduated with an MSW in 2016 and subsequently completed a two-year psychoanalytic psychotherapy fellowship at the Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. My training has also included local, national, and international seminars and consultations focusing on race and identity, working with trans clients, dissociation and trauma, feminist psychoanalysis, and Kleinian psychoanalysis, amongst other topics.

Throughout my careers in both publishing and psychotherapy, I have worked to deeply understand and challenge systems of oppression, especially white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, classism, misogyny, and their myriad intersections. Some identities I hold include white, queer/bisexual, genderqueer woman, neurodivergent, non-gestational parent, and single mother.

License

  • Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Minnesota, #25521

Education

  • Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program, Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, 2018

  • Master in Social Work, University of Minnesota, 2016

  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Minnesota, 2007

Select Trainings Attended

  • Advanced Clinical Supervisor Training, Minnesota State University, Mankato, April 2023

  • Working with Depressive and Self-Defeating Clients, Nancy McWilliams, Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis, March 2023

  • Advanced Perinatal Mental Health Psychotherapy Training, Postpartum Support International, February 2023

  • Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of Care, Postpartum Support International, February 2023

  • Mindful Self-Compassion Short Course, InsightLA, November-December 2022

  • Gender Identity: Advanced Clinical Skills, Janet Bystrom Micek, PrairieCare, June 2022

  • Integrating Ego State Interventions into Your Practice, Robin Shapiro, South Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work, February 2022

  • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Healthcare Professionals, Center for Mindfulness, UMass Memorial Health, April-June 2021

  • A Black Feminist Psychoanalytics, Michelle Ann Stephens, Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis, February 2021

  • Radical Openness, Otherness, and Ethical Considerations in the Coparticipatory Process of Psychoanalysis, Anton Hart, Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, January 2021

  • Beyond 101: Negotiating and Utilizing Self in Supervisory Relationships, Christina Haddad Gonzalez, University of Minnesota, January 2021

  • Race, Black Bodies, and Psychodynamic Therapy, Lisa Moore, Hamm Clinic, October 2020

  • Contracted Clinical Supervision: Navigating the Balance of Transparency, Support, and Accountability, Christina Haddad Gonzalez, University of Minnesota, August 2020

  • Affective Neuroscience: The Motivating Role of Emotion for Healing and Change, Judith Hoy, University of Minnesota, August 2020

  • EMDR Phase 1, Monica O’Connell, Institute for Creative Mindfulness, January 2020

  • Grasping Fog: The Reflective Use of Self and Its Application in Social Work Supervision, Angela Lewis-Dmello, University of Minnesota, January 2020

  • Core Competencies in Social Work Supervision: Crucial Concepts and Skills, Christina Haddad Gonzalez, University of Minnesota, January 2020

  • Existing in One’s Own Heart and Mind: Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Complex Trauma, Jerry Lagamna, Minnesota Trauma Project, October 2019

  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Compassionate Ocean Zen Center, June-August 2019

  • Minneapolis Trans Equity Summit, October 2018

  • Challenging Moments in Trauma Treatment: Working with Complex Dissociation, Ruth Lanius, Minnesota Trauma Project, February 2018

  • The Fear of Feeling Real: Trauma and Dissociation, Richard Chevetz, Minnesota Trauma Project, October 2016

  • More than One Can Live: Reconceiving Harm and Reparation in the Intersubjective World, Jessica Benjamin, Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology, May 2016

Teaching

  • Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Gender, Race, Sexuality and Culture (20 weeks), Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program, MN Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Fall 2022 - present

  • Gender and Sexuality in Psychoanalysis (10 weeks), Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program, MN Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Spring 2022

PRESENTATIONS

  • Guest lecturer, “Work in the ‘New’ Economy,” Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA, October 2022

  • Guest lecturer, “Transphobic Countertransferences,” MPSI Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program, Minneapolis, MN, April 2020

  • Co-Presenter with Dr. Ethan Grumbach, "Trans: How Much Do We Really Want to Know?" Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society Spring Conference, Edina, MN, March 2020

  • Guest lecturer, “Working Psychodynamically,” SW604 Methods of Clinical Social Work II, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN, February 2019

  • Panelist, "The Value of Acquisitions,” American Association of University Presses, Philadelphia, PA, June 2016

  • Guest lecturer, "How to Craft and Submit a Winning Book Proposal,” National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, 2015-2018

  • Guest lecturer, "What Does a University Press Do?" Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2015-2018

  • Panelist, "Object-Oriented Feminism Roundtable: The Fluid Future of OOF,” Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts, Dallas, TX, October 2014

  • Guest lecturer, "What Does a University Press Do?" WRIT 5270 Writing for Publication, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2013-2015

Publications

  • Co-author, "Forerunners and Manifold: A Case Study in Iterative Publishing,” Journal of Scholarly Publishing 48, no. 2 (2017): 90-98