Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
     In our response lies our growth and our freedom.     
                                                                                       ~ Victor E. Frankel

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       The therapeutic relationship is the primary vehicle for change and healing in psychotherapy. I am amazed by the transformative impact of being understood and accepted. This process leads to greater self-awareness and self-compassion, which in turn results in growth and resilience. Struggle and suffering are universal and inevitable, but sometimes we suffer more than is necessary. Therapy is a means of identifying what can be changed in us and our environment and what must be accepted. My approach to therapy is to help you understand what forces drive you, what keeps you stuck, and what can be done to improve your quality of life, relationships, and well-being.

 

      My appreciation for this work has only deepened in my twenty-five years of practice. This passion fuels an ongoing pursuit of skills and training in a variety of therapeutic approaches, and I enjoy tailoring a treatment plan to your unique needs in a collaborative and creative process. I have extensive training in psychodynamic therapy, attachment theory (EFT), child development and parenting (with expertise in children with ADHD, anxiety, and mood disorders), family systems, CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy and CBT-i for insomnia), and therapy for grief, loss, and illness. In addition to my private practice, I have worked in community mental health, schools, group homes, and private treatment centers.  

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     A common assumption I hear is that my work must be burdensome and exhausting, but on the contrary, I learn as much from my clients as they do from me. My work and my therapeutic relationships are inspiring and meaningful. Therapy can be challenging, but it can also be a source of joy and connection. I find there are as many good laughs as there are tears in the work I do.  

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      Three passions led me to become a therapist at a young age—understanding the mind, understanding relationships, and alleviating suffering. I grew up in a tiny, remote town, a place where profound community and connection is juxtaposed against a landscape that defines one's metaphysical "smallness." This experience greatly shaped my being and thinking and continues to inform the way I work: psychotherapy is often a process of finding an existential equilibrium, a balance between connection and separation, joy and struggle.

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       I had the good luck to attend Harvard University, where I instantly fell in love with psychology.  After college, I spent some years engaged in research in ADHD and Bipolar Disorder in the Child Psychiatry Department at Massachusetts General Hospital, sorting out which graduate degree to pursue. It quickly became clear to me that my passion was not in research but rather in working directly with patients, so I went on to earn a Master's in Clinical Social Work at UCLA. There I specialized in family systems, child development, and integrative mental health. I see patients in CA and MA via telehealth (phone or video).

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