Professional Background

I am trained as both an artist and a psychotherapist. I attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design exploring photography and continue to produce black and white images.  I received my Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University in 1989. I am currently an advanced candidate at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California in San Francisco.

For eight years I was the Executive Director of The Center for Healthy Development, a community mental health and clinical training agency for Marriage and Family interns specializing in the impact of high conflict divorce on children.  Additionally, I am a CAMFT (California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists) Certified Supervisor and have provided clinical supervision and consultation for the past 15 years.

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a type of treatment to help patients understand why their life seems endlessly difficult. We are often unaware of the many factors that influence our emotions and behaviors.  Together we will think about your most distressing concerns and also wonder if you may be unwittingly contributing to your ongoing dilemmas. I will listen closely to things you say but also--just as important--to the things you do not say around the concern we are discussing. It is the way you have learned to think about important relationships that that seem to cause troubles to follow you year after year, from job to job, or from one relationship to another, despite your very best efforts to change.

Comprehending why this happens over and over again is very difficult to do alone. In this kind of treatment we would meet several times a week. Some people prefer to lie on the couch while others do not.  Psychoanalysis encourages self-reflection that can lead to more creative thinking and contentment, so that you may live a more fulfilling life.

Psychotherapy

This is a similar form of treatment, less intense but also effective, in which we would meet once or twice a week.  This frequency of our meetings is often sufficient if you are coping with depression and anxiety that impact your important relationships or career goals.  Together we will think about how you typically try to manage your moods in stressful situations and explore other ways of responding, so you may become more thoughtful, imaginative, and productive.

➢ Depression and Anxiety
➢ Relationship Troubles
➢ Grief Counseling
➢ Trauma
➢ Work and Career Issues
➢ Stress Management
➢ Addiction and Recovery
➢ Conflict Resolution

Working with Families and Children

Parents worry when they know something is wrong with their child.  Most children do not have the language skills to express their worries; they struggle to cope and suffer in ways that cause their parents to be concerned.  In these struggles they become overwhelmed and express their troubles through difficult behaviors at home and at school.

It is important that I meet with the parents before starting a child’s treatment.  It is essential for parents to know that we are working together so their child can feel happier more of the time.  I help parents to listen and respond in new ways to their child, which helps them with their troubles that interfere with their schooling and cause troubles with peers.

Seeking my consultation is a good first step to determine whether treatment is necessary to assist the child to regain their overall sense of well-being.

I have experience helping parents and their children with a variety of difficulties:

➢ Family separation/divorce issues
➢ Parenting concerns
➢ Poor school performance or refusal to attend school
➢ Sleeping problems
➢ Eating problems
➢ Anxiety, fear, worry
➢ Out of control behavior,
➢ Depression
➢ Peer problems

Play Therapy

Play therapy is the basic model when treating young children.  Through therapeutic play we can come to understand the symptoms and the worries underneath a child’s behavior. Through this process, children recreate with special toys the emotional experiences they struggle with internally that impede their psychosocial development.

Many children--even those with good language skills--often are not able to express their anger, fear, sadness or frustration verbally.  These kinds of feelings make school and making and keeping friends difficult.  When these feelings get depicted in their play, I help them put their feelings into words and the child’s range of self-expression expands.  This allows for a shift in their interpersonal relations, which leads to higher self-esteem as well as enjoyment of family and friends, making parenting more enjoyable.

I meet with parents on a regular basis to support the treatment by offering new ways of listening and responding when their children are feeling badly about themselves.

Years in Practice

Education

• Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California
  
• Santa Clara University
  
• University of California - Santa Cruz
  
• Minneapolis College of Art & Design
  

Professional Affiliations

• Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California
  
• Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology
  
• California Marriage and Family Therapists
  

Gender

Prescribe Medications

Accepting New Clients

Insurance Accepted

Sliding Scale?

Services Provided

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