Natalie received her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lenoir-Rhyne University in August, 2019. She is licensed in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in North Carolina. Natalie’s special interests in the field are working with adolescence that need help with self-esteem, identity exploration, gender-affirming care, friendship and relationship building, trauma, anxiety, ADHD, autism and other neurodivergence diagnoses.
Natalie believes that all adolescents need a safe place to explore their identity, academic abilities and coping skills in a world that can often be demanding and judgmental. Her beliefs are that learning how to maintain healthy values and relationships with themselves, family and peers is key to this stage in a young person’s development. Natalie believes that teaching teens and pre-teens to build confidence in themselves through experiential learning and addressing their nuerodivergence can help them integrate regulation skills and be able to better advocate for their needs. She especially likes to work through animal assisted therapy to help her clients become comfortable with their authentic selves, practice relationship skills and building confidence in themselves.
Natalie is an Asheville, NC native. Prior to working at Asheville Academy, she went to Appalachian State University to complete her undergraduate degree in Music Education. After some time working in management in the hospitality industry in Asheville, she moved to South Korea to teach English as a second language from 2012-2015. She came home invigorated to work with kids in a new capacity, and sought out a way to continue to educate and lead kids into success outside of a classroom. Natalie worked at Solstice East, a residential treatment center, working with teens while she went to Lenoir-Rhyne for her masters. Natalie currently enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee, mountain biking and hiking with her pups, Misty and Kaya.