Directory of Members

I consider myself a genealogical psychologist. My work blends decades of personal and professional experience into an under-served but vital niche that addresses the professional, academic, and personal needs of those engaged in genealogical research and those providing mental heath services where genealogical discoveries may be part of the presenting issues.

Some of my earliest memories involve accompanying my mother and grandmother as they conducted genealogical research, carrying on our family's long line of family historians. I have continued that line with my own work, and taken it beyond my own family and extended family.

I am also a professionally trained photographer, and while I can certainly do family portraits in-home, my main interests lie in photographing large family heirlooms in-home (like that 100+ year old immigrant steamer trunk you can't move but want to preserve in some way) and building/land for record-keeping and historical purposes. I also volunteer my photographic and transcription services with Find-A-Grave, BillionGraves, and other sites.

Our roots make us strong. Preserving memories is one of my related passions, whether it be through photography, writing, oral history, music, or other formats. My passion is in finding ways to make it easier and more accessible for people in various roles to both present and understand genealogical discoveries without having the knowledge necessary to help prevent entering a crisis (or near-crisis) state - or to come out of such a state quickly and with appropriate support and resilience.

The experience I've gained in over 20 years of vocational rehabilitation and disability service provision along with my years as a crisis line volunteer and on-call crisis response team member and lead have helped me identify ways to apply these skills in a genealogical context for the benefit of clients and genealogists alike.

Education:

BA - Psychology; M.S. - Counseling Psychology; PhD (candidate, expected 2024) - General Psychology

Professional Diploma - New York Institute of Photography

Diploma - Defense Language Institute (Basic Arabic Studies)

Many individual courses and trainings in various aspects of genealogical research and professional practice, including membership in a number of genealogical organizations at local through international levels

My primary areas of research are in the intersection of genealogical discoveries and the psychological/mental health effects these have on individual and group identities.

I am currently nearing completion of a doctoral research study about the ways adult Americans experience the abrupt and unanticipated discovery of their own misattributed parentage via ancestral DNA testing with companies such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA.

I also work with genealogists, mental health professionals, and individuals themselves to develop appropriate and ethical crisis responses to unsettling genealogical discoveries.

I can provide various levels of crisis response training and resources to genealogists who may feel uncomfortable providing clients with unpleasant or potentially disturbing research results and there is the possibility that the client or a family member may not respond well to the information.

Other specialties include in-home photography of family heirlooms too large to be taken out of the home for professional photographic preservation, old photo analysis, brick walls research, and fitting genealogical research into one's busy daily life.

Open to considering topic requests.

Topics currently under development include:

• Breaking the news to your client responsibly
• Self-care when working with challenging research discoveries
• Don't leave them hanging: Ways to assist your client who has just received research results that rocked their world

(Under development)