Gretchen Heyer grew up in various countries of Africa, settling in the Chicago area and later moving to Houston. A foundation to her psychotherapy practice is the understanding that symptoms are much like dreams, clues to deeper currents of human nature, and while we humans often have similar dilemmas, what we need to claim our individual selves is radically different. In her free moments Gretchen can be found in her garden or at her keyboard. Her award winning essays have appeared in various literary and academic journals.