About
I’m a licensed psychotherapist accepting patients in California and Minnesota. I’m also a supervisor for Minnesota state licensure.
Mission Statement
The aim of my practice is to collaborate with clients and guide them towards a path of lifelong health and satisfaction. Together we’ll work through your issues and find strategies for coping with the demands of life while simultaneously uncovering any problematic patterns or behaviors.
We will use therapy as a tool for setting you free of what’s holding you back in life and replace it with enhanced self-esteem, self-knowledge, and well-being.
My Background & Training
I grew up in the Midwest and since have lived in many different cities and countries. I believe that my strong upbringing and exposure to the world makes me a better therapist. I attended Loyola University of Chicago and studied English Literature, receiving my B.A. in 1989. I then attended Boston University, receiving a M.Ed. in Counseling in 1993. I am constantly consulting, studying and immersed in psychology and bring this passion into my work with people. I have extensive training in psychoanalysis and all of my work is informed by this lens. The primary aim of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy is to help you come to know aspects of your mind that were previously unknown, so you can become a better, more whole version of yourself and live your life more fully and freely.
My approach to psychotherapy combines psycho-dynamic principles with strong humanistic and relational aspects and sessions are tailored to fit the needs and goals of each individual.
The goal of psychotherapy is to gain a greater sense of happiness, have more satisfying relationships, and live more closely to our full potential. By examining our feelings, behaviors and thoughts, therapy can help us find new ways of coping with distressing emotions and decreasing inner and interpersonal conflicts. Sometimes, therapy can be experienced as emotionally uncomfortable and beginning therapy takes courage and strength. It is not easy to examine yourself, become aware of your behaviors and try to make changes. Therapy can provide the safety and support needed to make lasting change. Research shows that more people are helped by this process when they are matched with the right therapist.
Change can occur because the emphasis is on slowing things down and creating space for being and understanding, rather than doing.
The major difference in working with a psychoanalyst as opposed to other mental health practitioners is the careful, consistent, deep attention a psychoanalyst gives to listening. Psychoanalysts develop this skill by engaging in extensive training beyond that required for their license. It is in this new, creative relational space that you may come to feel more deeply heard and known, to heal old wounds, to experience yourself and others in new, more satisfying ways.