About

I am an experienced Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in California. Over the years of working in community mental health agencies and private practice, I have seen the effectiveness of professional counseling in helping people turn their lives around and get on the right track. Some people are born with family predispositions to anxiety, depression, bipolar, and ADHD. Others experience life stressors that tax their capacity to maintain stability and functioning in life. In order to be the most effective therapist I can be for you, I am current in the major evidence-based treatment modalities and in neuroscience research to hone my skills. Change your brain, change your life is true because it works! And we know more about how to help you make that happen than ever before. Mind and body, body and mind are woven together in a beautiful, complex set of interlocking systems. Life stressors can tip the balance into producing symptoms which are our call for help. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy along with Mindfulness practices work together with both mind and body to create the conditions for change. Calming the body and mind, learning how to regulate anxiety and surges of emotion, unearthing negative core beliefs are yourself which are not true are some of the ways CBT with Mindfulness works. Early childhood traumas and losses often surge through life unresolved. Attachment theory can help us address the damaging effects of losses and unresolved grief which interfere with relationships. Traumas can be worked through with our current body trauma work.
Adult ADHD is a major specialty. Many adults discover in midlife that ADHD is the culprit which has been relentless in derailing them from their fullest potential. This is especially true for women with Inattentive ADHD who lack the hyperactivity to draw attention from teachers, parents or even other therapists to their plight. While ADHD cannot be banished, it can be effectively managed with education to the condition, learning new behaviors, therapy for damage to self esteem, coaching for staying on track, and frequently medication.
I am particularly sensitive to the needs of those who have a significant loss and/or have been a caregiver to a loved one. In our death and grief denying culture, we are expected to pull ourselves up and move on with life far too quickly. It takes time to integrate our grief and adjust to a new reality. With my years of hospice experience, I am able to help people navigate this period of upheaval in life and begin to find meaning and purpose again.
As a therapist, I have one primary goal in my work. That goal is to assist you in attaining the quality of life and peace of mind you want and deserve. You have made a good decision to reach out for help. Wherever you are in your journey in life with the challenges you are facing, I will meet you there. Together with my skills and dedication and your strengths we will work together to get you unstuck and moving forward in creating the life you want.