Background

I am a licensed psychologist (Psy14302) in the State of California and I am registered with the Board of Psychology. I earned my BA from the University of California, Berkeley and my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, Alameda in 1993. I am a member of the American Psychological Association, Division 56 (Trauma) and Division 39 (Psychoanalytic), the National Register of Health Psychology Services, the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology, and the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association (EMDRIA).

I work collaboratively with my clients and with outside professionals that we regard helpful to the therapy. My clients report that I am accessible, honest, respectful, insightful and engaged. My work is client-centered which means that although I offer my professional guidance and skill set, I firmly believe that each client holds his/her own personal truth and the ability to heal themselves.

Theoretically, I am trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy, which explores the interplay between a person’s history and their current experiences and relationships. Psychodynamic therapy creates a deeper understanding of how our past affects our current lives and determines our present and future choices. Illuminating these links is vital if we wish to make healthier and more mindful decisions for our future. The therapeutic relationship becomes a source of healing, understanding and reprocessing of old patterns that lead to decreasing symptoms and the resolution of conflicts (work/relationships/negative self-beliefs). As these old and once protective patterns begin to shift a more meaningful, healthy and thoughtful existence emerges.

In addition to my having over 25 years of experience (education, internships, post-doctoral fellowship and practice) in contemporary psychodynamic treatment, I am an EMDRIA and Parnell Institute Approved Consultant and an EMDR/AF-EMDR therapist Certified EMDR Therapist. EMDR is a specialized therapy for symptom relief and the processing through of trauma, whether from the distant past or from a more recent event, remembered or unidentified. This treatment has proven effective with emotionally charged memories that are associated with trauma/PTSD, accidents, medical trauma, assault, childhood neglect and abuses, anxiety, phobias, depression, addictions and pain. It is a shorter-term model that targets and integrates how our body, beliefs, and feelings both immobilizes and restores us in our healing process.

I am a Facilitator to licensed therapists completing Dr. Laurel Parnell’s AF-EMDR trainings.  I provide Attachment-Focused EMDR consultation to professionals in EMDR Basic Training (Parts I, II, and III), and to those seeking Certification and Approved Consultancy.

Additionally, I am a Certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), a three-year certification program in Somatic Experiencing (SE). SE is based on the research and therapy of Peter Levine, Ph.D. SE brings an awareness of body sensation to help people ”renegotiate” and heal their traumas. With appropriate guidance, individuals are able to access their own physiological and internal mechanisms to process trauma. Learning how to regulate ones physiology and to discharge thwarted flight/flight/freeze responses allows people to reduce or eliminate their traumatic symptoms. SE is used to discharge highly stressful events, physical conditions and emotions that are non-trauma related, as well. I facilitate Beginning and Intermediate SE training years.

Most importantly, I bring together my background and experiences to provide a client-centered, individually tailored and eclectic approach (Psychodynamic, AF-EMDR and Somatic Therapies and Mindfulness techniques) that is safe, well-paced and restorative.

I invite you to Contact Me with any questions or concerns and to schedule an appointment.