About Nikki

My philosophy is to give back to those that sacrificed for us. What most people know about me is that I’m stubborn, honest, straight forward, compassionate and a no beating around the bush kind of person. I am determined to help ease the burden my fellow Veterans carry, even if that’s only for a moment in a counseling session. I want voices to be heard and my clients to feel like someone is in their corner. Yes, I am a proud Army Veteran, and my path has led me here. I have always had this feeling that my life would be of great purpose, that it is meant to be something bigger than just simple. Every time I tried to veer off the path of counseling God found a way to put me back on track. So eventually I stopped fighting it and accepted what I was meant to do, and I’ve never looked back.
 

Why counseling? I don’t know, I still do not have an answer for that because it honestly was not my first choice. My undergraduate degrees are in Criminal Justice, which is the complete opposite of being a therapist, but somehow, I ended up here instead. I have always been a people watcher and loved thinking of reasons people behaved the way they did. I would sit with my children in a crowded mall and be happy and content just watching people. No, not in a stalker kind of way, okay, maybe kind of stalkerish…but in a harmless kind of way it sparked by curiosity. I wanted to know how the human brain worked, and why. This curiosity led to my college career. I started taking classes like Sociology and Psychology which just intrigued me even more, so much so, that I ended up going to Walden University on the path for a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. I graduated in 2018 with a master’s degree and added an emphasis in Forensic Counseling and Military Studies. After graduation I started working on my clinical hours and eventually became a fully licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC).
 

My life, like many others, has seen its twists and turns and pain but I’ve never chosen to sit idly by and let life take its punches, I always fought back! After honorably discharging from the Army in 1996 I started working two jobs and was not sure where my life was going, I just knew I needed to be in school. Then, here comes life again, throwing punches to knock you around and kick you off your chosen path, so, life said “Hello, have a baby!” In 1998 my first daughter was born. Yes, this meant school was put on hold so I could be a mother instead, just one of the many sacrifices we make to raise our babies.  Before I knew it, I was welcoming my second child, another daughter in 2000. Shortly after her birth I found myself single in Las Vegas, with no job, no husband, two little girls at my side and in a homeless shelter for my youngest daughter’s first Christmas. You want to talk about rough times and reasons to quit those were some doozies, but like I said, I always fought back, and this time was no different!
 

 I was on the journey of my life, single mom, working full time, going to school full time and in 2008 had my third child, my son. For most of my children’s lives they only remember me going to school and working hard. I won’t sit here and say that being a single mother and father to my children was easy, because that couldn’t be further from the truth! However, the most important purpose I had and still have, has been to be a good role model for them, to make them good human beings. Motherhood has been one of my greatest accomplishments, and my children are my everything! The determination to never quit and to show my children that you can accomplish your dreams is what eventually led to me finally obtaining a master’s degree and opening this private practice.
 

In closing, I’d like to share an old proverb that I live by, “God makes three demands of his children: Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have now.” This is my mantra!