ABOUT

I love my work. I find it both professionally and personally rewarding to help people achieve the goals they have for making changes in their lives, for healing from hardships, and for actively engaging in the process of personal growth. I offer a variety of services – psychotherapy; individual training in mindfulness practice; Introduction to Mindfulness classes; guided meditation sessions; and psycho-educational presentations on various topics -- that can be helpful in coping with anxiety, depression, sleep difficulties, navigating changes related to stage of life and life transitions, decision-making, parenting, teaching, and stress management.

INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE

I enjoy working with individuals who are navigating life transitions--such as a new stage in life, parental post-partum adjustment, or change in living or working situation; exploring the effects of past and current relationship dynamics; managing stress; or struggling with issues related to teaching and/or parenting. Difficulties in these areas can show themselves in anxiety, depression, sleeping difficulties, conflict in relationships, and other signs of distress. I consider it an honor to work with and be with someone, as they learn, heal, and grow through these experiences.

Teaching and parenting is difficult and important work. I find it particularly rewarding to provide information about the social-emotional development of children, and to be able to highlight the importance of presence, connection, and responsiveness in being with children as parents and teachers. In this way, I hope that I am also having a positive influence on the many children in their care.

Teaching mindfulness and providing therapy from a mindfulness perspective brings me much joy! I am committed to sharing a way to approach life's challenges that is supported by research as providing a successful means to alleviate suffering (anxiety, depression, physical pain, interpersonal conflict), and to make more intentional, informed, and personally satisfying choices for living, working, and relating to others.

MY APPROACH

I look at emotional difficulties and life challenges from a holistic, mind-body perspective. I will draw from a variety of therapeutic approaches in helping you find your path to coping more effectively and living more authentically and with more pleasure. These approaches include systems, cognitive-behavioral, person-centered, attachment, psychodynamic, and mindfulness. In the therapy process, you will learn about yourself and "how you tick," and the tools to discover your own natural insight and problem-solving strengths and skills, and for developing new perspectives and strategies to cope with your struggles more effectively.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

My work has included providing psychotherapy in a variety of settings--college counseling center, community mental health, and private group practice. At this time, I maintain a private psychotherapy practice that is currently virtual; conduct evaluations of children (aged 3-14) in a trauma-focused agency; teach Introduction to Mindfulness training with individuals and groups; and consult with educators.

For more than twenty years, I worked with several Philadelphia and Camden, NJ Head Start and Early Head Start programs, addressing the mental health needs of children, families, and staff members. In those and other educational settings, I provide trainings in child development and in responding to emotional and behavioral challenges, using a child-centered and mindful approach to instruction, relating to students, and intervening with difficult behaviors.

In various educational settings, I have provided instruction in mindfulness meditation and in teaching children mind-body and mindfulness skills for relaxation, as well as for addressing community, diversity, and compassion toward others.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

B.A. Psychology -- SUNY Binghamton (now "Binghamton University"). I worked with Dr. Raymond Romanczyk in The Children's Unit, a research and clinical training clinic for children with autism spectrum disorders.

M.S. Psychological Services -- University of Pennsylvania. The program provided a general background in assessment, human development, and theories of counseling, and had a particular focus on systems--understanding and addressing problems in the institutional, organizational, or cultural context.

Ph.D. Counseling Psychology-- University of Pennsylvania. My clinical training was in community mental health and college counseling.

My interest in yoga and meditation began in college. During my graduate education in psychology, I was drawn to mind-body approaches to addressing emotional difficulties, and integrated these into my therapeutic work. Since 2006, when I trained in using mindfulness in psychotherapy (with Dr. Ronald Siegel through the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine), I have engaged in extensive educational programs in mindfulness with leading theorists, practitioners, and researchers in mindfulness and mind-body perspectives. At the Sage Institute of Healing, I studied a Buddhist-psychology approach to mindful meditation, becoming a certified teacher of MBI® (Mind-Body Intelligence™), and facilitating MBI® groups. I am currently engaged with a beautiful group of mindfulness practitioners in community learning (Sangha) through Cloud Sangha, formerly under the wise teaching of Sharon Shelton, and now with another gifted mindfulness teacher, Rae Houseman. I regularly take yoga classes with my teacher of many years, Tara Culp. Mindfulness practice has been an effective addition to the perspective and tools I offer in psychotherapy and consultation with parents and teachers. On a personal level, daily practice of yoga and mindfulness meditation has helped me bring more thoughtfulness to my relationships, approach difficulties with more equanimity, and experience more ease in my life.

I trained in the Nurtured Heart Approach (NHA)®), a relationship based approach to parenting and teaching children, with founder, Howard Glasser in 2005. I regularly attend seminars and read extensively in the areas of child development and parenting, and have more than 20 years' experience working with the families and staff in Head Start programs.

LICENSED IN PSYCHOLOGY

Pennsylvania (PS-005517-L)

New Jersey (4907)