PHILOSOPHY

The overarching philosophy of my practice is to work with your unique core strengths, as opposed to focusing only on pathology.  I consider myself active in sessions, maintaining a challenging yet warm, supportive, and encouraging presence. I have a good sense of humor and tend to help people feel at ease. In order for you to have a satisfying experience in therapy, I will encourage feedback throughout our work together.

The most important thing to me in working together is building a trusting and non-judgmental relationship, where you can feel safe to talk about yourself openly. I believe that the strength of our relationship is a crucial foundation for our work together.

You know your life better than anyone else. Therefore, I will hold great respect for your wisdom about yourself. As someone who gets to know you in great depth, I will offer my wisdom as well, and we will work together to help you discover how to live the life that is best for you.

I will work mindfully and purposefully to help you:

• Become more aware of the patterns that motivate and trigger your behaviors and impact your emotional and mental growth.
• Face and resolve unfinished business from your past so that it does not interfere with your present.
• Develop stronger, deeper, and more fulfilling relationships.
• Grieve losses and great disappointments so that you will be free to move forward.
• Develop a fuller and more compassionate perspective about yourself (and others), while at the same time taking responsibility for your choices.
• Develop emotional flexibility and creativity in situations in which you may now feel stifled.
• Experience the joys of life more fully and with more awareness, and bear the pains of life with more compassion and strength.
• Become more aligned between what you want, how you feel, and what you do in the most important areas of your life, such as your relationship with yourself and others, your career and other life goals, and your health.

EDUCATION & SPECIALIZED TRAINING

I have worked in a variety of clinical setting, including university academic hospitals, behavioral health, community mental health, and schools.  In addition to my clinical work as a psychotherapist, I am an adjunct professor at Alliant International University – CSPP where I teach Human Development and facilitate a course on Psychopharmacology.

Education

ALLIANT INTERNATIONAL UNIVERISTY - CSPP
San Francisco, California
Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology; May 2010
Specialty in Neuropsychology

LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE
Portland, Oregon
Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology; May 2001

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA
Santa Barbara, California
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology; August 1996

Specialized Training

• Certified in Emotional Focused Couples Therapy
• Level 2 EMDR Training
• Certified in Hypnotherapy
• Families in crisis - including serious adolescent acting out behaviors, divorce, and infidelity.
• Addiction and Recovery
• Couples Facing Infertility
• Brief Strategic Family therapy
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy
• Neuropsychological Assessment.  Particular expertise in testing for differential psychiatric diagnosis, learning abilities, ADHD, cognitive and memory problems, dementia, and chronic pain
• Psychopharmacology

Professional Affiliates

• American Family Therapy Association
• Association of Family Therapists of Northern California
• American Psychological Association