My Background and my work with clients

My primary work with clients in my practice is from a Systems-Centered® perspective.  I help the client, couple, or group to see issues in context and always normalize the struggle or conflict. In therapy, I work with clients on skills to reduce symptoms -- such as anxiety and depression, or unwanted behaviors.  I  use specific cognitive and behavioral tools and then train clients to practice using these skills on their own.  Reducing symptoms opens the door to more in-depth developmental work.  Some clients choose to use  short-term therapy to specifically work on a symptom that is in their way; others choose to continue to use therapy more long-term to develop their personal and work relationships.

My areas of specialization include depression, anxiety, trauma, and eating disorders.  I also work with more general issues, such as relationship conflicts, life transitions, and sexuality. 

I work to create a safe, collaborative, and challenging therapeutic relationship with clients.  In that context, clients are able to explore and work more effectively.  Together, we identify specific goals and discover the barriers that are in the way of achieving them.  Ultimately, all my work with clients is geared toward regaining emotional intelligence or common sense.  When we are able to see what triggers us and to see our situation from a larger perspective, we are often able to regain our common sense and use our energy to more easily reach our goals.

Clients have the option to participate in group as well as individual and couples therapy.  I have been leading both long and short term groups for the last 22 years.  Groups can be an enormously effective tool to gain insight into one's self and one's personal and work relationships.  Rather than see issues from just a personal perspective, which causes anguish, groups help members to see their struggles in context, which can be a relief.

I also specialize in working with therapists, both in therapy and in supervision/consultation.

After receiving my Ph.D. from Yale University in 1997, I worked at several different city hospitals -- including Bellevue Hospital, Columbia Presbyterian, Beth Israel Medical Center, and Maimonides Medical Center.  I have been in private practice for 25 years.