I am a psychoanalytic psychotherapist working with individuals spanning in age from late adolescence to older adulthood, presenting with a range of social, emotional, and behavioral concerns. While I am trained to address all the major diagnoses, I tend to privilege exploration of one’s internal life and relationships as well as the influence of sociocultural systems on one’s typical ways of being in the world. Above all, I value the uniqueness and specificity of individual experience and find that engagement with and curiosity about anything arising in therapy is almost always more helpful than evaluative criteria.
From a psychoanalytic and relational perspective, I am, in general, interested in how we understand and inhabit our experiences, in terms of both the stories we tell and language we use as well as the dynamic, embodied ways we interact in relationships and the wider world. Because of the breadth and depth of my approach, under certain circumstances I find that meeting multiple times per week can facilitate the work we are able to accomplish together. I also believe that in any therapy, a therapeutic relationship with creative potential is itself foundational to change.
My previous work and clinical training includes long-term therapy with individuals and couples, community mental health, substance use treatment, and consultation-liaison psychology. I have been involved in ongoing training through the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis.
Additionally, my practice is informed by my background in cultural studies, specifically, art history and the anthropology of religion. Questions about creative expression, including breakdown or stasis in the creative process, are of particular interest to me. My therapeutic style is open, active, and engaged.
Education:
B.A. Reed College, Portland, OR, Religion
Psy.D. The Wright Institute, Berkeley, CA, Clinical Psychology
As a Registered Psychological Associate, I am supervised by Loong Kwok, Psy.D.
