Background & Training
I received my masters and Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology. I completed my masters degree in 1987 and my Ph.D. in 1991, and was licensed to practice independently in 1993. Beginning in 1986, I have been working with individuals, couples, and groups in various mental health settings. I have worked in both inpatient, outpatient, and crises intervention clinics. After graduating in 1991, I completed a year long post doctoral internship at Ross Hospital evaluating and treating children and adults. From 1992 to 1994 I was a research associate at the Center for the Family in Transition studying infant-parent attachment. From 1994 to 1997 I taught and supervised at John F. Kennedy University and have been in full time private practice since 1997. While I have and do work with a variety of clinical issues, I am passionate about working with women and couples around perinatal and parenting issues, and have had special training in these areas. I have completed over 62 hours of professional training in perinatal mental health, and have completed a teacher training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.
My Approach
My approach to therapy varies depending on my client’s needs and preferences. My background is psychodynamic and relational, meaning I pay close attention to how early relationships impact our current relationships and expectations. Mechanisms which may have been adaptive at one time can be rigidly clung to even when they are no longer useful. Helping one to recognize these unconscious expectations and mechanisms for coping and consciously examining their usefulness, while also examining alternative possibilities, can help open up blocked pathways to growth and transformation. While I am interested in how the past influences the present, helping individuals and couples find practical solutions for the present is equally important. Support, education, examining the successfulness of a strategy, providing resources and referrals, and placing the current crises in context, are all important components of working towards change. Using mindfulness as a means of working with life's everyday (and not so everyday) stressors is also an integral part of my approach.
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