STYLE & APPROACH

I am a therapist because it challenges me to keep my mind and heart open to the unparalleled power of healing through human connection. Through my own experience in counseling I have developed a deep respect for the vulnerability involved in the process and I have seen how transformative it can be to become curious about oneself and to engage in a change process from a place of deep understanding. 

I balance support, compassion, humor and directness in my work with adult individuals, couples, parents, families and adolescents. I pull from a wide range of theoretical orientations to support my clients and while my overarching style remains steady, I am constantly modifying my approach based on the specific needs of each client. ​

I was trained in psychodynamic therapy (insight oriented therapy), and I believe that gaining a nuanced understanding of how one's past and present connect is critical in making therapeutic gains sustainable. The premise of psychodynamic therapy is that we develop psychological and behavioral patterns of relating to ourselves and others in our childhood that helped us navigate our circumstances at that time. As we grow older, some of these patterns which were once helpful are now unhelpful because our life circumstances have changed. When one can connect these dots, and work through the feelings that often arise in response, one is positioned to make behavioral changes with eyes open.

Various presentations in therapy may call for immediate tools to manage certain symptoms, for example, isolating as a result of depression or experiencing anxiety attacks. This is another circumstance in which I would likely become more ‘solutions focused’, pulling from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and other mindfulness based therapies to build a client’s emotion regulation toolbox.​

For those who are interested, I am very familiar with The Enneagram, a typing system that examines nine distinct strategies for relating to the self, others and the world. Each Enneagram type has a different pattern of thinking, feeling and acting that arises from a deep inner motivation or worldview. When desired by a client, I use the Enneagram to support a greater understanding of and compassion for different ways of negotiating one’s relationship with the self, others and the world.

BACKGROUND

My undergraduate degree is from Connecticut College, a small liberal arts school on the East Coast. I received a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology at San Francisco State University and I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (License Number: MFC 48587). I've worked in this field for nearly 20 years in a wide range of settings including schools, community mental health clinics (Seneca Center, WestCoast Children’s Services), hospitals (Alta Bates/Sutter Health) and private practice.

I am committed to continually examining how my client's experiences of privilege and/or marginalization impact their sense of themselves and the world around them and how power differentials in the therapeutic relationship impact the work. I would be delighted to expand on this during an initial phone consultation.

In my free time, I enjoy being in nature, laughing, and relaxing with my family with a good cup of coffee in hand.