PhD / Marriage & Family Therapist
I’ve been practicing as a licensed marriage and family therapist since 1991. I love working with couples who are trying to improve their relationships, and with those who are in the painful process of determining whether or not they can stay together. I also enjoy my work with individuals who feel “stuck” in their lives, are eager to improve their intimate relationships, or who long for a more fulfilling direction in life.
I try to work closely with people (adults, teens and children) to try to understand what matters most to them. I pay special attention to people’s hopes and dreams, to the ways they “make sense” of their worlds, and to their preferred or most-desired ways of living. Together we explore why these hopes and dreams matter, and then identify the behaviors, stories, and “ways of being” that will most fulfill their highest ideals and purposes. I welcome you to read more about my approach to therapy, here. Thanks.
MS / Marriage & Family Therapist
I enjoy working with children, adults, couples and families to help them adjust to life transitions. My experience working with young people and adults with chronic illness and disability informs my work and has me considering the biological, social, and spiritual dimensions of a person’s life. Eleven years living abroad have given me an appreciation for families grappling with the tension of moving and adapting to new neighborhoods, schools, and cultures.
I understand the challenge of sorting through feelings of isolation, questioning identity, and learning how to integrate into new environments. I have a special interest in working with couples bringing a new child into their relationship and family. This often is a complicated adjustment balancing parenting roles with the couple relationship. Even more complex is the adjustment when these changes involve stepfamilies.
MD / Psychiatrist
My experience has been informed by a great deal of work in “community mental health.” I served as the Director of several programs for adults and children, both in the military and in the civilian population. One of my strongest interests was working with very disturbed children. For over 23 years I was the child psychiatrist for a residential program in California. This program utilized the highest levels of care and was the “last stop” for children who had failed all other treatment efforts. Working with these children taught me that, with the right engagement and safety, no child was “beyond help.”
All of my experience has taught me that relationship is the most powerful agent of personal change – whether it involves the recovery of one’s deepest life goals or one’s physical well-being. Overall, and in the long-term, I have found engagement and relationship to be more powerful than medication.