You're not alone.
Following a challenging childhood, I found my way to psychotherapy many years ago. Lying down on that couch several times a week saved my life. It renewed my sense of being, breathed vitality back into my then broken soul. My choice to become a therapist stems from my own gratitude for the ways in which this work has helped me to heal.
Art and spirituality.
On my journey to becoming a therapist, I spent several years practicing and teaching yoga and meditation. It was during this time that I discovered the joy of getting to know the vulnerability and strength of another deeply—whether a Guru holding my tears and transformation with gentle compassion, or a sweaty student reaching into a headstand for the first time. As I deepened my spiritual practices, I found both the permission and the encouragement to feel and move through the turbulence of inner worlds alongside others who were courageously doing the same.
Clinical training.
I earned a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies where I studied the intersection of Eastern spirituality and Western psychoanalytic psychotherapy. I spent my post doctorate year working at the California College of the Arts (CCA) where I delighted in helping young visual and performance art students grow more joyful and sustainable lives without losing the depth and soul of their creative process. I later became Director of Behavioral Medicine in a practice aimed at helping individuals cope with and heal from chronic physical pain. Along the way I undertook training in EMDR, an exciting modality now widely and successfully used to treat trauma.
Several years ago, I expanded my clinical repertoire to emphasize couples work, embarking on an intensive advanced training program at the Psychoanalytic Couples Psychotherapy Group. There I spent three years learning in depth psychoanalytic couple therapy but have been influenced along the way by alternative theories such as the work of John and Julie Gottman and Dr. Sue Johnson’s Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT).
Now, in private practice, I specialize in working with both individuals and couples navigating a wide range of challenges to rediscover joy, connectedness and play in their lives.
