Services

License # MF000956 i

Professional History

I practice client-centered therapy for couples, families and individuals. I also offer coaching and related services for adults, adolescents and children with ADD/ADHD. I have 30 years of experience in the field, including working within non-profit agencies as well as in private practice. A graduate from the University of Georgia School of Social Work (MSW), I worked in Athens, Georgia for four years focusing on child evaluation and play therapy, as well as couples and family therapy. In 1993, I moved to Charlottesville, VA, where I continued my work as a psychotherapist specializing in women's issues, as well as couple work and parenting support. In 1999, I relocated to Silver Spring, MD, where I worked full-time in private school settings as well as other therapeutic clinics and in private practice. In 2014/2015, I studied with Behavioral Tech, Marsha Linehan's team, and completed a course in DBT skills training and therapy (Dialectical Behavior Therapy). A total fan of mindfulness practice, I teach mindfulness and DBT strategies in all of my work with my clients. Since 2018, I have made my home in West Chester, PA, and established my private practice in my home office in the Borough of West Chester.

Philosophy

It was mainly my curiosity and interest in learning about other people which brought me to social work and psychotherapy. I love asking questions: What brings you here? What is painful and unpleasant, soothing and comforting? How can we find steps towards recovery and healing? Where do you feel safe? When you stop being able to ask questions and to explore options, then you can feel stuck and feel pain. I help individuals, couples and families find ways to get unstuck. My early training was with a client-centered practice, an approach originated by Carl Rogers. As I refined my work as a marriage and family therapist, I found myself using many strategies and theories in order to find the most effective treatment for my clients. No matter what strategy we may ultimately employ however, and no matter what life circumstance has brought you into my office, you will be treated with respect and kindness, and without judgment. When I became a parent, I became interested in education, earning a second degree and becoming trained as a Waldorf high school teacher. Waldorf pedagogy springs from the roots of anthroposophy, a philosophy I enthusiastically embrace. For the past 30 years I have combined therapy and education, and have had the opportunity to work in a number of Waldorf and other private alternative schools, as well as a variety of non-profit, community-based organizations. Finally, I have worked at a local crisis center as well. In each of these settings, where individuals, children, adolescents, couples and families shared their lives with me, I have offered them my compassion and interest, and together we were able to learn much about ourselves while discovering the healing and peace which until then, had lain dormant within.

Personal

Throughout my life, I have striven to acknowledge those I come into contact with as fellow travelers on this earth, all on our own personal, spiritual path, sharing many moments and connections. Ultimately, I believe we must support each other and all humankind in the process of our evolution. With that in mind, I have been blessed with three children, whom I have raised mainly as a single parent. They are all grown, and I am re-married, working on how two families might fit together in love and respect. I continue to grow! •

Services Offered

Individual, couples and family therapy
Special education coaching, help with parenting concerns and educational questions
ADD, ADHD advocacy and coaching
Help with parent-child conflict, especially adolescents and young adults
DBT skills training
Women’s empowerment and self-esteem building
Depression counseling
Anxiety therapy
Grief work, help with loss and bereavement