I graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology. Immediately I began working at a drop-in center for victims of domestic violence in upstate New York. My role there was to develop a program and provide support services to older adults in abusive relationships. It was there that I was first introduced to and energized by advocacy- being assistive when someone needs a calm, patient support person to help them navigate a very difficult situation.

In 1999 I moved to Los Angeles and began working for another agency serving victims of domestic violence. I was employed as a case manager there for several years, working with women and children who were in varying stages of change. Some continued to struggle within abusive relationships, others had made significant changes and were residing in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs, and others had left their abusive relationship and were making efforts to put the pieces of their lives together. In this work I was struck by what I learned about change. How patient and open one must be to allow another to move at his or her own pace as well as how to spot opportunities to inspire him or her to move on to the next level. I experienced that change is never linear, though we always expect it to be. Change is often subtle and slow, though we prefer it to be dramatic and immediate. And change is often uncomfortable and sometimes painful, even when it's for the better. 

At that point I realized that I wanted to make this my profession- facilitating the emergence of desires, hopes, and new behavior. I earned my Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California in 2003. Upon graduation, I worked with children and adolescents- all of my clients were on probation and/or in foster care; some of my work was at a residential facility and some was working to prevent these youth from entering residential treatment. Many of my clients suffered severe mental health disorders, nearly all experienced tumult as a consequence of poverty, parental substance use, violence either in the family or neighborhood, or various other traumas life threw at them.

All of my clients had developed ways of coping with these problems, mostly through their own use of violence, substance use, and countless other manners of pushing people away. I had to see through these behaviors to attend to the person underneath. In these challenging circumstances, I strengthened my skills in treating each client as an individual- a person with needs, worthy of attention, time, kindness, and love.

In 2006, I earned my license as a clinical social worker and in 2009 opened a private practice where I have been working since. In my current practice, I see primarily adults- both individually and as couples. I do provide psychotherapy to children and families, although on a limited basis. Among other situations, I have assisted clients in managing and alleviating depression, anger, and anxiety (including PTSD and specific phobias); moving on when feeling stuck; and increasing understanding, cooperation, and passion in couples.