I work holistically, integrating mind, body, and spirit into the way I think about the human experience and condition. I have a collaborative, psychodynamic style, always bearing in mind how the relationship I develop with my patients relates to the issues and struggles they deal with out in the world.

By carefully and thoughtfully examining your life -- your hopes, fears, and desires -- we develop a practice, a discipline, cultivated over time that will help you continue to grow for years to come.

 I offer a genuine approach to psychotherapy, acknowledging each client as an individual with unique needs.  Every person strives for health and has the possibility of  healing, although one often meets great challenges along the way. A relationship with another person who is meant to facilitate the process of  overcoming these challenges can be of great benefit. Psychotherapy offers a confidential place for a person to share, explore, and process those things that make life stressful.

Relational, Integral and Jungian Psychology

I am trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy from a Relational perspective - Relational Theory proposes that a central human necessity is the establishment of authentic and mutual connection in relationship. Disconnection in relationships is the source of psychological problems (Stephen Mitchell). A Relational approach has been used by feminist psychologists, such as Nancy Chodorow and Jessica Benjamin, emphasizing that the experience of equality and inequality in relationships has a great effect on mental health. 

In addition, I have a background in Integral Psychology – an approach embedded in my graduate training at California Institute of Integral Studies - which integrates insights from mind/body approaches, nutrition, spiritual/religious traditions (Western and Eastern), and alternative health practices in order to allow for a more comprehensive approach to working with clients in therapy.

I have done a great deal of work with the Jungian institutes in San Francisco and Chicago and have been in my own analysis with Jungian analysts for many years. Carl Jung had a strong belief in the unconscious and the archetypes that we can access through our dreams. I have done dreamwork circles with Keren Vishny who practices Natural Dreamwork, and happily offer this in sessions.

Mindfulness and Focusing

Mindfulness has been a central part of my training and continues to be of great value in my personal and professional life. Mindfulness, paying attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them, is rooted in Buddhist practices that I have studied, initially on retreat with Robert Thurman and Mark Epstein studying the integration of Buddhism and Psychotherapy. More recently, I have been trained in Focusing, a practice very similar to mindfulness, as developed by Gene Gendlin, and taught to me by Marsha Smith.  Focusing is body-oriented, not just words. It's about paying attention to your felt sense of a situation and making your feelings clearer so you can use them to guide your next steps. Focusing and mindfulness skills help to build one's inner ability to deal with stress and frustration.