The Full Story
My Path to becoming a Doula
Birth is one of the most profoundly impactful experiences a person and their baby will have throughout their entire lifespan. I have the lived experience of facing the complex challenges and barriers that exist regarding access to safety and resources while navigating motherhood within intersectionality.
Philosophy & Approach
My work sits at the intersection of nervous system care, trauma-informed support, and deep respect for human dignity. I believe nutrition, mindset, emotional regulation, and safety are not extras. They are foundational. Nutrition supports mood, resilience, and prevention. The nervous system shapes how we experience pregnancy, labor, birth, and parenting. Trauma lives in the body, and healing does too. Much of my work focuses on helping people understand the role of the nervous system in labor and birth. We explore how trauma impacts regulation, how co-regulation begins prenatally, and how bonding starts long before a baby is born. Growing through trauma is possible when safety, choice, and support are present. Mindset matters, but not in a dismissive or bypassing way. I teach emotional regulation, thought stopping, and how to interrupt “stinking thinking” without shame. Mantras and affirmations are tools, not platitudes. We train ourselves emotionally so the body can follow physically, during labor and far beyond it. At the core of my approach is how I show up. I listen with intention. I validate lived realities. I notice my own biases and name them when needed. I call out bias constructively, not defensively. When reflecting, I use the same language clients use, because words matter. I take relational risks, refine as I learn, and make connections out loud, especially with people I care about. I trust that people who experience injustice already hold the wisdom for how systems need to change. I believe showing up for the hard things is part of the work. I am openly critical of the “charge what you’re worth” narrative when it creates further separation from care. Access to safety should not be a luxury. All people, and all birthing people, deserve to have their needs met. The question should not be whether someone can afford support, but how we collectively make support accessible. I am in this work for social change. I recognize that my current season of life comes with privileges, including not having littles at home, which allows me to push through the growing pains of building something bigger than myself. Community matters more to me than profit. I measure success by the quality of connections and the momentum toward justice, not by financial gain. I live simply. Minimalist. Vegan. A little rogue. A committed advocate. My spirituality informs my abundance mindset. I believe that scarcity thinking harms people far more than it protects them. Rejecting the “not enough” narrative is part of how I survive and how I serve. I believe that we are enough, I believe in the beauty and power of motherhood, and in the seat of the soul as a place of truth and healing. I believe in discovering stillness, and honoring complexity. I am not interested in hiding who I am or what I believe. What I care about is safety, dignity, connection.
​​Long before I ever heard of the word “doula” I often daydreamed about ways I could help to make Oklahoma a more supportive community for families, and after reading a book and learning about meditation, I would frequently meditate on the beauty of motherhood, and that developed a deep reverence for motherhood within me.
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In 2009 I began my career as a caregiver supporting people with varying levels of disabilities. I helped people to meet their daily needs, and that often encompassed helping them cope with pain. I also supported their independence, & reinforced their rights, and when appropriate assisted them in expressing their wishes, which contributed to increased safety and dignity. I was able to practice and strengthen my advocacy skills during that time.
Then in 2017 I decided that I wanted to go into mental health, and became a co facilitator with New View Healing Solutions, an organization providing Trauma Informed Care training to Social Workers, Police, Schools and other systems of care all across Oklahoma. I also served as a Recovery Specialist for patients undergoing inpatient care with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Informed by Dr. Sandra Bloom’s Sanctuary Model, and Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neuro Sequential Model of Therapeutics, I gained invaluable insight for understanding the natural physical and emotional impacts of trauma, and learned practices that help holistically soothe and contribute to healing from the injuries of trauma.
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Hearing Dr. Perry speak just continued to bring it home for me, telling us about how children healing from trauma through drumming, was linked to a baby hearing their mother’s heartbeat in her womb! I was again so moved by the power of that connection, and a fire was ignited within my heart.
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