Education
I hold masters and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I am licensed to practice as a psychologist in the state of New York and I currently have a private practice in the SoHo neighborhood of downtown Manhattan.
Much of my pre-doctoral training and post-graduate work experience has been in university counseling centers. I completed my doctoral and post-doctoral training at the Student Counseling Center at The University of Chicago. I previously led a mindfulness meditation group on the university campus, and I established my private practice in 2012.
Experience
A number of my clients tend to be university students; however, I specialize in outpatient psychotherapy with adults across the lifespan. In 2015 I moved my private practice to New York and I am conveniently located near NYU, Pace University and The New School, among other institutions.
I have considerable experience working with individuals and couples of diverse cultural backgrounds, sexual orientations, religions, and gender spectrums. Through working with such diverse populations I have developed a deep knowledge of a broad range of life challenges, psychological concerns, and diagnoses. Thus, I consider myself a generalist as I do not limit my work to one type of person or concern. However, I have particular interest in working with relationship issues, difficulties related to anxiety, depression and eating as well as concerns related to public image perceptions and how we dress.
Treatment approach and philosophy
I see myself as a participant in collaborative therapeutic relationships with my clients. I seek to establish a trusting, accepting, and emotionally safe environment to support my clients in navigating life’s many challenges. I view therapy as a dialogue between myself and my clients as we move together towards a deeper understanding of the meaning behind one’s experiences and symptoms.
From a theoretical standpoint, I draw heavily from existential and relational perspectives and when appropriate, I incorporate aspects of mindfulness meditative practices and theory. My approach to therapy is based on my worldview that we are all relational beings, and as such, most concerns and symptoms that we experience involve a relational component. While the focus of therapy is often “here and now” I believe that our past relationships and experiences help to shape who we are today. To that end, I believe that both early and present day relationships are important to examine in understanding my clients’ current functioning and aiding in their future growth.
My own relationship with my clients is also important to examine, as I see the therapeutic relationship as a microcosm for my clients’ outside relationships- any relational difficulties that clients face in the world will likely show up in the therapeutic relationship. Therefore, I am an active participant in therapy and I believe that talking about my relationship with my clients can help to illuminate these relationship difficulties and provide a safe, confidential space to work through these challenges and to refashion their approaches to relationships.
When meeting with a client, I view their concerns and psychological symptoms as having value- my aim is to understand the meaning and usefulness of my clients’ symptoms rather than simply attempting to eradicate them. Part of my role as therapist is to help my clients become more aware of their previously implicit values and how these values have shaped their lives. I seek to help illuminate my clients’ choices and their impact so that clients can feel empowered to envision alternatives and enact new ways of being.