About Me and My Approach to Therapy
My Approach
My goal is to give you the experiences and tools that you need to move forward.
I believe the foundation of all therapeutic work is your sense of feeling safe, listened to, understood and cared about during sessions. When that empathic connection has been established, we can explore together the stories, patterns and beliefs that contribute to your difficulties. I genuinely want to understand your experiences, and encourage a lot of back and forth between us in sessions. With patience and compassion, I am calm and centered as we work together. The therapy relationship between you and I can provide insights into how you interact with yourself, others and the world at large.
I use short-term, solution focused and long-term treatment models, and welcome people of all colors, ethnicities, spiritual and religious orientations, gender and sexual orientations into my practice.
About Me
I have been in the mental health field since 2005, and have worked with a wide range of clients. Through formal classwork, workshops and seminars I have been exposed to many different types of therapeutic interventions.
Some of my other professional experiences include:
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Co-developing and teaching a class for separated or divorced parents
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Coordinating a group therapy program for adults diagnosed with both serious mental health issues and substance abuse problems
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Team teaching clients about Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
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Working with DreamPower Horsemanship on Horses for Heroes, a relationship enhancement seminar for veterans and their partners, based on my dissertation.
I was born and raised in the Bay Area, then spent many years in New York City. I have been with my spouse since 1993, and we have one son. Before I became a psychologist, I worked in theater and television. I trained and volunteered as a community mediator in Marin.
I belong to several professional organizations for psychologists or related to EFT. My main affiliations are with Northern California Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy (NCCEFT), and Marin County Psychological Association (MCPA) on whose Board I sat on for many years.
Education and Training
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Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist in 2015
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Licensed Psychologist in 2012
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Alliant International University California School of Professional Psychology, Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D., 2012) & Masters (M.A., 2007) in Clinical Psychology
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Yale University, Bachelor of Arts cum laude