About Me :) ✨

I am a simple girl living in an increasingly complicated world. Take me back.

I was raised in the 1970’s in the PNW where kid crews ran neighborhoods. Big Wheels tore down cul-de-sacs. Capture-the-flag until sunset! I’d be up a crab apple tree with caterpillars on my arm. There were mud pies made of pansies and May flower bouquets left on door steps. In the early '80’s, my unbuckled family drove our Vanagon down through the Redwood Forrest and moved back to So Cal. I could bob and tumble in ocean waves all day, and did. I couldn’t wait for summer camp.

I am blessed with good parents who raised me a member of the LDS church. (I’ve always thought it was cool to be a descendent of Brigham Young and Mary Ann Angell.) I’m grateful I grew up learning purpose through service and reverence, and I still feel safest in sacred spaces.

I’ve also always wanted to know what everybody else was doing over there. My own curiosity and personal healing has lead me to explore a variety of ways humans feel comforted, whole, and loved. I’ve studied with generous teachers in the following mentorships and programs:

Formal Education:

  • 2002 Bachelors degrees in The Study of Religion and Anthropology, UCSD

  • 2008 Masters degree in Social Work, SDSU

Licensure:

  • 2017 LCSW CA BBS #76522

  • 2021 LCSW TX BHEC #104786

In between graduation and licensure, I had two sons. In 2013, my toddler was diagnosed with a catastrophic form of epilepsy called Doose Syndrome. Our timing couldn’t have been luckier because the news was just getting out about the medicinal use of cannabis in children. When pharmaceuticals did not work for my boy, I became a pediatric cannabis advocate out of necessity. I began blogging, and started the support group I needed with other families also learning how to medically use marijuana. Our children changed medical history forever, and I wrote a book about our journey as a way to explain it all to my son.

In 2014, I got my dream job as a hospice social worker—supporting patients and caregivers living with terminal illness. I will take the compliment because thank you, yes, I am an angel. And no, it’s really not depressing. But it does change you. How could it not? I write about my precious experiences on Substack at The Places We Land.

I worked in end-of-life care through out the pandemic, until I relocated in 2021 and opened a private practice. My work as a therapist includes:

In 2025, I expanded my services into coaching to help more people in chronic pain who don’t need or want psychotherapy. I am currently creating a specific program just for men in chronic pain with high demand careers.

Beyond all of the above, I am a daughter, mother, and true sister. I am a writer and meditator. I love the Wise Woman Herbalism Tradition and freckled fawns. I wander into dreams and nature. I am a very serious student, entrepreneur, and advocate. I melt over babies, beauty, poetry, circles, and simplicity.

If I’ve learned one thing in my life, it is this: intense lives love simple solutions. If you resonate with me and want to connect further, schedule a discovery call—I’d love to meet you!

Warmly,

Allison ✨