THERAPY
FOR NOW
"Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen."
Brene Brown
ABOUT THERAPY:
FINDING MEANING &
CULTIVATING WELL-BEING
My aim in psychotherapy is to work with clients to create a safe space in which distressing problems, patterns and life experiences can be explored and transformed. I see the therapeutic relationship as a collaboration that helps clients identify and develop their unique strengths to shape and affirm their lives and to work through issues that can feel overwhelming when confronted alone. My practice includes EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) and TRM (trauma resiliency model) skills to support post-traumatic growth and healing.
Given the widespread anxiety and distress associated with the COVD19 pandemic, I offer tele-therapy options as well as face to face sessions to individuals residing in California.
ABOUT ME
I am a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC 10291)
In addition to my psychotherapy practice, I have taught philosophy and bioethics at the college level for over twenty years. For me, philosophy offers a way to ask questions about what it means to be a human being. In particular, philosophy provides a language to explore the nature of human dignity, authenticity and wellbeing, the place of love and sex in our lives, and to ask what we owe each other as members of a range of ethical communities, both human and non-human. I see therapy and philosophy as complementary ways of articulating and affirming the lives we wish to lead.
I hold a masters degree in clinical mental health counseling from Lesley University in Massachusetts. I received my bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Harvard University, and my doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University.
SERVICES
No two therapy experiences are alike. I work with each client to identify their particular aims,
and our work together is responsive to changing needs.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The therapeutic relationship allows client and therapist together to engage in a dialogue that fosters understanding and acceptance, while encouraging emotional growth and shifting old patterns that may be keeping us stuck and suffering. In this non-judgmental space, clients gain new strategies for interacting as well as new perspectives and insights from which to consciously shape their lives.
For those who are staying home during the COVID19 response, I am happy to discuss Telehealth options for online therapy.
HOW LONG
DOES IT LAST?
Therapy sessions are scheduled once a week, on a day and time suitable for ongoing meetings. Each session is typically 50 minutes. EMDR sessions are sometimes scheduled for 90 minutes. There is no recipe specifying when the work is “done.” In some cases, the work might have a relatively narrow focus (for example, addressing concerns prior to a wedding or the birth of a baby). In other cases, the work is more long-term, aiming at ongoing personal growth.
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
Anxiety
Depression
Trauma
Self Esteem
Relationships
Grief and Loss
Life transitions
Contact me today to schedule a brief, free phone consultation.
INDIVIDUAL THERAPY
HERE FOR YOU
At different times in life, many people find themselves feeling stuck and distressed, whether in work or in love or in being who they are. Sometimes a life event produces an acute crisis or activates old wounds. I take a relational approach, incorporating EMDR and attachment-focused therapy to create a safe space for clients to grow and heal.
I encourage new clients to schedule a brief phone call to talk more specifically about what our work together might involve.
WHAT IS EMDR?
EMDR is the abbreviation for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an approach to psychotherapy that helps reduce the distress associated with a variety of traumatic experiences by helping the client process disturbing material in new and less disturbing ways. EMDR uses eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation (tapping or sound, for example) to provide a dual attention while the client focuses on the distressing material. The dual attention helps shift feelings, thoughts, and sensations so that they are more integrated with normal information processing and less emotionally charged. EMDR is offered as a stand-alone technique by some therapists. In my practice, EMDR sessions supplement talk therapy for those clients who are interested and for whom it is appropriate.
CONTACT ME
2730 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 660
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(424) 835-0028
