People seek psychotherapy because they are feeling stuck or trapped: stuck in a relationship, stuck in a job, or stuck in repeating some behavior or pattern again and again without knowing why. Psychological symptoms and self-defeating behaviors are not only sources of pain and suffering. When we learn how to listen to them, they contain messages about our deepest conflicts and desires, our anxiously buried wishes, and the histories of ourselves and our families.
I work, first and foremost, from a position of listener, and I believe that this listening can create a space in which the narrative about oneself, others, and life can be rewritten in a profound way. This leads to improved relationships, increased access to creativity, and decreased inhibitions, symptoms, and anxiety. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is not a quick or easy fix, but it is not interminable, and it is the best treatment for attaining long-lasting and significant life change.
My experience includes working in a wide range of settings, from inpatient psychiatric units, to therapeutic communities, to substance abuse treatment facilities, and outpatient mental health clinics. This has afforded me the opportunity to work with a diverse range of socio-cultural backgrounds and psychological difficulties. I am currently in private practice offering psychotherapy for adults and adolescents as well as play therapy for children. I also provide psychodiagnostic and neuropsychological assessment services.