Welcome to My Website
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
— James Baldwin
I understand what a big decision it can be to seek out a psychotherapist — it requires a willingness to admit that you have a problem and to seek help for that problem. This takes a great deal of courage and strength as well as self honesty. The process of truly facing ourselves, especially if we are engaged in behaviors that cause us to feel shame and despair and that conflict with our core values and self image, can be very challenging and painful. But it is likely that you have gotten to the point where you have concluded that the cost of ignoring these behaviors would be far more perilous than facing them. And therein lies the hope born of your decision to seek help for yourself, for in that spirit of openness you make the space for the possibility of change.
As a psychotherapist who works with people who seek freedom and relief from disturbing relational patterns and destructive behaviors, I am extremely interested in and knowledgeable about the process of change, particularly what facilitates it and what obstructs it. I understand that change is a complex process and that it is far from a straight path, as behaviors that cause distress also serve an important purpose and are not given up easily. I meet my patients where they are at and try to work with their aims and their ambitions for therapy. I do not impose an agenda for change upon them, rather I try to hew as close to their intentions as possible; and when behaviors arise that conflict with and distract from their agenda, I work to bring us back to center and to understand why we got off track.
I also understand how scary it is to dare to believe that change is possible, especially when efforts at change have repeatedly failed. I honor and hold sacred that you have not given up on that hope, and that you have decided to entrust that hope in someone else in the process of seeking out a psychotherapist. I welcome the opportunity to speak with you and look forward to meeting you in the space of possibility and to walking with you along the journey toward change.
Given the world we live in, I feel it is important to make space for a dialogue related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, if a patient wishes. This may be an ongoing part of the therapeutic relationship, just as I am committed to doing my own ongoing work through professional trainings, personal exploration, and self-education.
My areas of specialty include:
- Problematic Relationship Patterns
- Adolescents / Parenting / Couples
- Eating Disorders / Addictions / Codependency / 12 Step
- Aging / Sleep Disturbances
- Adult Children of Narcissistic Parents
- Depression / Anxiety / Obsessive Compulsive Disorder / Bipolar Disorder
- Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, and Other Childhood Traumas
- Grief and Loss
- Anger Management