Biography

I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in individual and couples therapy. My approach is psychodynamic, focusing on discovering why repetitive negative patterns seem so difficult to shed. The goal of therapy is personal freedom in the broadest sense: control and choice over how we live and who we are.

I am a certified psychoanalyst as well. Psychoanalysis is a deeply intensive and potentially transformative treatment experience consisting of multiple sessions a week for an extended period of time.

Psychotherapy offers an opportunity to explore the larger and often daunting issues we all face: does our life have meaning? What is the quality of our relationships? Have we been damaged by our past, and if so, is that damage showing up in our present life? Do we blame others for our disappointments, or have we not mourned the losses life inevitably brings?

My strength as a clinician is my emphasis on working collaboratively with individuals and couples to ensure that our work feels effective and progressive. Therapy requires commitment, trust, and honesty from all parties to safeguard the hard earned changes possible in therapy occur.

I work closely and collaboratively with individuals and couples to move beyond old, repeating behavior patterns that hinder growth and freedom. Effective therapy is a mutual undertaking in which fears, anxieties, and deeply held negative beliefs are discovered and shifted. Change happens in a deeply personal way, and never without trepidation. Depressive feelings, self-destructive habits and behaviors, unsatisfying work, and unhappy relationships are often the result of unknown personal roadblocks we unwittingly erect to protect us at a cost.

Therapy provides a private and safe venue for discovering the reasons why life can feel flat, meaningless or frightening. It can be the catalyst for profound movement and growth.

Education

  • Ph.D. 1998

    Ph.D. Clinical Psychology - combined clinical & research track

    Adelphi University, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies

  • M.S.W 1984

    Master of Social Work

    New York University

  • B.A. 1982

    Bachelor of Art, Psychology

    Vassar College

Clinical Experience

  • Present2001

    Licensed Clinical Psychologist

    Private Practice, Boston, MA

  • 20072001

    Staff Psychologist

    Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Brookline, MA

  • 19861984

    Clinical Social Worker

    City University Child Center, New York, NY

Clinical Training

  • 20102005

    Graduate - Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute Analytic Training Program

    Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute

  • 20011998

    Post-Doctoral Clinical Fellow

    Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Brookline, MA

  • 19981996

    Psychology Intern

    Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, MA Harvard Medical School affiliated APA – approved internship

  • 19951994

    Psychology Extern

    Parents’ and Children’s Services, Boston, MA

  • 19921988

    Clinical Trainee

    Psychological Services, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY

  • 19881987

    Psychology Extern

    Queens Hospital, Children’s Out-patient Department, Queens, NY

  • 19841983

    Social Work Intern

    Morrisania Neighborhood Family Care Center, Bronx, NY

  • 19831982

    Social Work Intern

    Bronx Psychiatric Center, Bronx, NY

Teaching Experience

  • Present2013

    Faculty Member

    Massachusetts Institute of Psychoanalysis

  • Present2011

    Faculty Member

    Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute

  • 20182013

    Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry

    Tufts University School of Medicine

  • 20132003

    Faculty Member

    Boston Institute for Psychotherapy

  • 19901989

    Adjunct Professor

    Adelphi University, Department of Education and Reading

  • 19891988

    Teaching Assistant

    Adelphi University, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies

Research Experience

  • 20011998

    Research Team Member

    Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Boston, MA

  • 19951995

    Doctoral Dissertation Research

    Adelphi University, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies

  • 19871987

    Research Assistant

    Adelphi University, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies

  • 19861984

    Research Assistant

    City University Child Center, New York, NY

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, International Psychoanalytical Association
  • Member, American Psychoanalytic Association
  • Member, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute
  • Member, Massachusetts Institute of Psychoanalysis
  • Member, Massachusetts Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology
  • Member, American Psychological Association
  • Member, APA, Division 39 (Psychoanalysis)
  • Member, APA, Division 12 (Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice)
  • Member, Massachusetts Psychological Association
  • Member, Vermont Psychological Association