First and foremost, therapy is a relationship. My role in that relationship is to listen…to hear my client and reflect back on what I’ve heard…and to help my client make meaning of experience.
Therapy is also a healing procedure… I help clients change unhelpful patterns of thought that negatively affect their actions and feelings. I also focus on those feelings, and help the client to experience them without being overwhelmed.
Finally, therapy puts us in a vulnerable place. It takes courage to expose those parts of yourself that you have kept hidden. That’s why I honor the dignity and worth of every person I work with. I offer a safe place to be vulnerable.
I was trained in cognitive behavioral therapy at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, Weill Cornell Medical College.
My doctoral research focus was on relapse prevention and the 12-step movement. I’ve also been trained in motivational interviewing at the Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies.
To better understand trauma and its treatment, I attended a three-day conference with Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, the leading researcher in the field.
I am currently being trained in EMDR by instructors from the EMDR Institute.
I was trained to administer and interpret the Adult Attachment Interview at the Adult Attachment Interview Institute, New School for Social Research. I’ve been rated as a highly reliable interpreter of the AAI by its creators.
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
California License Number LPCC14041
Licensed Professional Counselor
New Jersey License Number 37PC00545000
Education
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
Ph.D. in Counseling
Dissertation: “Speaking of Recovery: How People in Remission from Alcohol Use Disorder Use Language to Make Meaning of Self, Others, and Relationships”
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Florham Park, NJ
M.A., Clinical Mental Health Counseling.