Education
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I am a licensed clinical social worker and have been in private practice in Albany since 1988. I have years of extensive training and experience in psychodynamic depth-oriented psychotherapy. I also draw on a variety of specialized treatment approaches including clinical hypnosis, EMDR, and shorter-term treatments.
In addition to my private practice I teach Human Development and Addiction Studies at the Wright Institute. I am also a clinical supervisor at the Psychotherapy Institute and at the Women’s Therapy Center. Teaching and supervising keep me current with improved techniques and cutting edge developments in the field of psychology. For the past decade I have immersed myself in the burgeoning research about the brain, particularly how it can improve the practice of psychotherapy. I love what I do and I am continually engaged in my own study and educational enrichment in order to provide high quality contemporary psychotherapy.
Because I work from a relational perspective, I place great value on the relationship between my clients - generally older adolescents and adults in individual and couples therapy - and myself. I consider the relationship as the medium in which learning, growth and transformation takes place. I apply an integrationist model, creating a plan of treatment that best suits each individual’s particular needs and strengths. I have found hypnosis and/or EMDR to be highly effective tools when working with issues such as chronic illness/pain, phobias, test anxiety, infertility, single incident trauma (i.e. car accident, robbery, or abuse), indecision, and life or therapeutic impasses.
It isn’t always the presence of a specific problem that brings people to therapy. I have many clients who enter into therapeutic work seeking more meaning, and authenticity and vitality in their lives. Often this leads to exploring issues of identity such as sense of self, profession and work satisfaction, sexuality and gender. Sometimes concerns relating to relationship issues such as couples communication, commitment uncertainty, divorce and mediation impel people to therapy. General mood struggles with anxiety, depression, grief and loss, and/or apathy are also reasons people seek therapy. I have a specialty in work with addictions, both substance and behavioral; I see individuals in all stages of recovery, offer structured interventions, and work extensively with adult children of alcoholics and co-dependency.
In addition to my therapy practice I offer consultation to other therapists and small group seminars on the application of neuroscience to the practice of psychotherapy. I find the recent discoveries about the plasticity of the brain and the tangible impact of human relationships on brain structure exciting and hopeful, propelling me to continue active engagement in my teaching, consulting, and psychotherapy practice.