People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life...I think that what we’re really seeking is an experience of being alive. -Joseph Campbell
A range of emotional, behavioral, physical and relational challenges bring people to therapy, from specific problems to a general feeling that life is just not right, nor is it all that it could be. Whether your needs are pointed or less defined, I will provide a focused, change-oriented and accepting environment for our exploration built upon trust and a relational bond.
My goal as a therapist is to make myself obsolete. I have done my job when you are ready to end therapy.
I have trained in Schema Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), with a background in adherent DBT treatment. My primary focus is Schema Therapy, which aims to address our unfulfilled needs that interfere with our way of life and the quality of our relationships. I currently also offer DBT-informed individual therapy that uses the DBT skills as a framework for therapy, but does not involve group or the other more extensive tools of comprehensive DBT needed for acute treatment.
My private practice is based in Linwood, NJ, and I practice primarily through telehealth with other states. I am licensed in New York, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
In 2006 I received my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Sarah Lawrence College, in New York. I’ve spent two decades in the media arts, as a widely-published journalist, fiction and non-fiction writer, editor, and independent publisher, and bring a sense of narrative, story, and metaphor to our therapy work. I have many years experience as a photographer, television producer, and filmmaker. I am an editorial advisor to renowned twin researcher and psychologist Dr. Nancy Segal. I have assisted Dr. Segal on her last four books, the most recent of which won the American Psychological Association's William James Book Award.
My mindfulness practice of many years informs my work as a therapist. I learned that to see clearly, I first needed to slow down, apply a brake before reacting to my emotional urges. This practice has been life-changing for me, and continues to teach me every day. Mindful awareness practice is not meditation, but rather a tool, much like a camera lens, that can sharpen our view—our sense of what is happening—so that we might be more intentional in how we respond to each moment.
Additionally, I am trained in ecotherapy, which aims to reconnect humans to nature, our surroundings, our place we call home, through psychotherapy. I coordinated the Children’s Program at Green Gulch Farm in Marin for the San Francisco Zen Center, which linked mindfulness to ecology.
I am Co-founding editor of the Journal of Holistic Psychology. A former annual print volume that published essays and research from the best of holistic-based psychotherapists, educators, and writers. The Journal was sponsored by the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).
Among my influences, my beloved dachshund Yum Yum has taught me the power of dog mind; his single-minded pursuit to burrow into a weasel hole perfectly demonstrates both the How and the What skills of DBT Core Mindfulness.