Dr. Armer is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of California (PSY31832)
She is dedicated to providing a supportive space for individuals to process unexpected, challenging and sometimes traumatic experiences. She prefers a collaborative engaging approach to therapy and will strives to help you develop tools and improved confidence in your own ability to regulate your emotion, to manage stressful life experiences, and to achieve meaningful goals. During her sessions with you, she will use evidence-based approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy and accelerated resolution therapy to guide her approach.
She has lived in California for decades; however, prior to moving to Northern California she had not lived anywhere longer than 5 years because she had frequently relocated with her family to different states and countries. These moves required quite a bit of adapting for an extremely shy, picky eater who would have preferred to remain near close friends and survive on more mild, single textured foods (e.g. bread, cheese and chocolate). Thankfully, practice meeting new people and trying new foods during her travels helped her become a little more outgoing and flexible. These skills came in handy when she needed to relocate again for her undergraduate and graduate education, in California and North Carolina, respectively.
She initially moved from North Carolina to the San Francisco Bay Area to complete her Child Psychology Internship at Stanford. After her internship and while she was completing her dissertation, the sudden birth complications and subsequent complex medical needs of her middle child required a dramatic shift in focus as her family adapted to the change. Unforeseen challenges appeared requiring both new family interactions and coping skills. She paused her training to become the full-time caregiver of a child with complex medical needs and her two siblings. During this time, she learned to navigate the medical system in order to handle complicated care needs that no one in her family had ever dealt with before. While caring for her daughter, she also gained additional experience collaborating with professionals from a wide range of disciplines. She provided medical care, case management, and advocacy for her daughter until her passing at the age of 12.
She returned to her field by obtaining postdoctoral training in Pediatric Psychology at Stanford, working with parents of infants in an intensive care setting (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit) and with children and families facing serious medical illness, including solid organ transplant. After she completed her postdoctoral training, she supported NICU research as a Clinical Instructor at Stanford. Her work in these settings combined with her lived experience has strengthened her knowledge of common emotional experiences and useful coping techniques for families facing unanticipated medical challenges and hospitalizations.
When she is not supporting others, she enjoys baking, watching her favorite TV shows, walking around her neighborhood, and hiking with friends and family in local open space preserves. When she has time to travel she likes to explore Yosemite, to spend time with her family in the Tahoe area for lake/mountain activities and to occasionally visit Disneyland, the location of her daughter’s Make-A-Wish.
