I am fortunate to have grown up in the California Bay Area and to be able to give back to this community. I have been working in the field of mental health since 1993. After graduating UC Santa Cruz with a degree in American Studies, with an emphasis on History and Literature, I worked with children and adolescents in residential treatment centers for nearly a decade. This work inspired me to take the next step toward being a therapist and I earned a master’s degree in Counseling from Cal State East Bay in 2001, and became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in 2005.

 

I have worked as a therapist and consultant in public and non-public schools for more than 15 years, including providing individual and group therapy for students with learning differences. I have been meeting with adults, children, couples, families, and groups in my private practice since 2003. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to work in addiction recovery programs for adults and adolescents, therapeutic mentoring programs, and to provide clinical supervision and consultation for other therapists. 

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I am deeply interested in the wide range of transitions that we all navigate and all of the related possibilities for growth. It gives me great joy to see some clients when they were children or teenagers and to hear from them again 10 or 20 years later. Having already established a trusting relationship, many past clients have resumed therapy with me later in life as needed. 

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When I’m not in my office, I spend as much time as I can enjoying nature on land and in the water. I am devoted to exercise and my physical health. I love watching my son play high school baseball. I am actively engaged in finding my own opportunities for growth and learning through therapy, trainings, consultation, Tai Chi and Qigong, meditation, a men’s group that I’ve attended since 2002, and other supportive practices. Taking care of myself in these ways helps me show up for others in an enlivened, authentic, and solid way.