Practice

Why I’m a Therapist

I’ve been an attuned listener, compassionate friend, and non-judgmental observer for as long as I can remember. I was born to be a therapist, although I didn’t know what therapy was until I came upon hard times in my adolescence and early adulthood. In my early teens, I decided life would be a lot easier if I physically and emotionally ‘disappeared.’ I was tired of the pain of rejection, the sting of criticism, the chaos of friendships and the crazy changes in my body.

I embarked on a campaign to re-make myself as an emotionless machine. No feelings, no pain, no awkwardness. I emptied myself of feelings (or so I thought), and life was easier… until it wasn’t. Depression and anxiety filled the space where my average, human struggles had been, and took hold of my life for years. Depression dominated my high school years, persisted through college, and even found its way into my marriage and professional life.

It was only through the transformative power of psychotherapy that I found my way out of that suffering and back to my life. Therapy helped me realize that, having refused to sit with my pain in adolescence, I had also forfeited access to the experiences that make life worth living - joy, expectation, surprise, reward, love and true connection with others. While running from my pain, I found I couldn’t really love anyone or anything, at least not wholeheartedly. Psychotherapy helped me know all parts of myself again and feel closer to the people I loved.

I’d never trade this history for an easier path, because it gives me an empathic bridge into my patients’ lives. My own history has helped me connect with people of all ages, cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses and with people suffering from the severest mental illnesses to college kids with minor adjustment problems.

I fully welcome you and your unique story.

clinical TRAINING

• Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY

• M.A. in Psychology from City University of New York – Hunter College, New York, NY

• Psychology Pre-doctoral Internship at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine – Elmhurst Hospital, New York NY

• Advanced Pre-doctoral Externships at Beth Israel Medical Center and Long Island University Psychological Services Center

Professional Experience

• Private Practice, Individual and Couple Psychotherapy and Forensic Evaluation

• Visiting Scholar & Clinical Psychology Supervisor, Columbia University

• Clinical Instructor, New York University School of Medicine

• Supervising Psychologist, Bellevue Hospital Center

modalities and SPECIALIZED TRAINING

My clinical work is firmly grounded in experiential and emotion-focused approaches, including

• Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT) and Individuals (EFIT)

• Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

• Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Processing (AEDP)

I also incorporate third-wave CBT and mindfulness approaches, including

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

• Radical Self-Compassion