I have been trained in Depth psychology, Gestalt, Narrative, Cognitive Behavior and in the evidence-based practice Seeking Safety. This provides me with a spectrum of positions from which to work with you, from developmental and attachment issues, to focusing on and increasing awareness of the less reflective areas of the psyche, to intimate relationship issues, to issues related to your position in our society and to decreasing the impact of symptoms on your behavior and functioning.

I don’t think any of us are perfect, and I’m a little suspicious of the term, though I’ll be glad to help you explore the meaning of this concept as it plays out in your life. But the idea of wholeness makes sense to me and informs the work I do. “Whole” and “healing” come from the same word. I believe that each of us contains what we’re looking for, and that much of the practice of psychotherapy is moving this material from an unconscious or a split-off state into awareness where it can be reflected on, claimed, integrated and celebrated. I also subscribe to the belief that meaning decreases suffering. Questions such as “Where did this idea come from?” “What purpose does it serve?” “What does it connect to and what does it deny?” bring meaning forward, to be discovered or to be made for the first time. Meaning guides the integration of material that may have been previously “left out” of the image you have of yourself. It also provides the position we sometimes call “outside of the box” from which we can detach from symptoms in order to more effectively assess and address them.

Another word we get from the same root as whole and heal is holy. Most broadly I locate my work in the belief that life is non-replicable, that you don’t live in order to do something but that everything you do is in service to your life, that you don’t occur in a textbook someplace but must be met and engaged as an individual. In the same way that meaning continues to be made through the duration of life so we each participate in the continuing creation of our world. As the poet says, “This universe is our home.”

Thank you for coming to this site, which describes my therapy practice. Psychotherapy is a way to address a number of issues in people’s lives. Perhaps you’re feeling stuck in a mood, such as sadness or grief, and want to get beyond it. You might experience the same unpleasant thoughts coming to you again and again, so that you’re fearful about the future. Or the thoughts are about something that happened to you in the past, and you have difficulty feeling safe or trusting people. There may have been a major change in your life, or one is currently in process or on the horizon—a change of health status, yours or that of someone you care for, or the loss of a relationship, or noticing yourself move from one age of your life to the next. You might be successful in your career, achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself, but notice that there’s a place where you feel chronically exhausted or inauthentic. Or you may observe that, even though your relationships are otherwise satisfactory, you must perform in some way in order to maintain them, or perhaps even to feel that you deserve them. It might be that you have behaviors that previously worked well for you—providing enjoyment and relaxation—but that are now becoming associated with problems, and are difficult to discontinue. Or it may be that you sometimes become aware of a terrible feeling of fear or shame, emptiness or abandonment, and it’s become important to you to address this.