About Your Therapist

Denise is a passionate and engaged clinical social worker and Geriatric Mental Health Specialist. When Denise is not working one on one with individuals, she provides advocacy and education to city, county and state policy makers about the real lived experiences and needs of seniors.

Denise practices with Feminist, Attachment-informed, and Equity, Inclusion & Belonging approaches using these frameworks to engage meaningfully with adults over age fifty-five from all backgrounds. Her clinical work integrates how the intersection of marginalized identities and childhood experiences impact mental health. Her scope of practice and training is influenced by the work of trauma scholars, researchers, and master clinicians such as Janina Fisher Ph.D,  Bessel Van der Kolk MD, Laura Brown Ph.D and Brene’ Brown Ph.D.

As a geriatric mental health specialist, Denise is trained to holistically assess and incorporate the complex physical and behavioral health conditions faced by each individual in her care. She also works with the University of Washington Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences AIMS Center as a clinical researcher supporting a study evaluating older adult participants engaged in a short-term behavioral activities’ intervention.  

Denise provides a multitude of services in a non-profit community setting (Wallingford Community Senior Center) including assessing dementia and delirium, evidence-based interventions for depression, facilitating discussions of end of life wishes, and working with adult children to plan and create a safety net for their aging parents.

Additionally, she is a certified instructor for Powerful Tools for Caregivers, and presents Personal Safety Nets workshops throughout the Northwest.