How I Think About Therapy

My work as a psychotherapist begins with how I think about emotional life and development — and how experiences across the lifespan shape the ways we as individuals relate to ourselves and others.

While symptoms on their own are worthy of attention, I try to view them less in isolation and more in the context they appear. Depression, anxiety, relational difficulties, and parenting concerns are often meaningful responses to lived experience — signals that something important has been carried, adapted to, or left unspoken.

Therapy offers a space to pause, wonder and make sense of these experiences together. When emotional life has space to be known and understood rather than judged or hidden, development tends to begin to move again.

Working With Children, Adolescents, and Parents

Children and adolescents experience emotional distress differently than adults. Changes in behavior, mood, and functioning often reflect developmental strain rather than intentional difficulty.

My work with young people is grounded in careful attention to developmental stage, emotional expression, and relational context. I also collaborate closely with parents, helping them understand their child’s experience while supporting their own confidence and clarity.

Parent consultation can be especially helpful during periods of transition, uncertainty, or concern about a child’s emotional well-being.

Working With Adults

Adults often come to therapy feeling emotionally depleted, anxious, disconnected, or caught in patterns that no longer fit. Many are functioning outwardly while quietly struggling inside.

In adult therapy, I focus on helping people understand how emotional weight has accumulated over time, how relationships and roles have shaped their inner world, and how new ways of relating to themselves and others can emerge.

Qualifications and Experience

I earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in conjunction with training in the art and science of Marriage and Family Therapy, leading to licensure in 2000. My clinical skills continue to deepen and develop while building on my experiences working with parents and children at Family Court Services, providing therapy to adolescents in community settings, as a therapist for Women’s Health clinic, and working in several San Francisco outpatient and inpatient psychiatry settings.  In 2006, I was a co-creator to develop then and facilitate a PHP and IOP where a range of psychological and psychiatric services were provided. More recently, I completed a four-year program in advanced clinical training at SFCP leading to qualification as a psychoanalyst.  I am currently engaged in extended clinical studies to deepen my skill in Child and Adolescent development and therapy. In addition I am a consulting analyst, training analyst, and on the faculty at SFCP.