I am a trained EMDR therapist through EMDRIA. 

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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression.

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EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain. The mechanism by which EMDR helps to process traumatic memories and unhealthy core beliefs is called bilateral stimulation. It’s simply a back and forth rhythmical pattern - which can take the form of eye movements, hand-held buzzer, or tapping on the arms or legs. 

 

While focusing on the image, feelings, body sensations and negative beliefs associated with a “stuck” memory or core belief and participating in bilateral stimulation at the same time, your brain can heal and effectively process the trauma.

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For many clients, EMDR can yield positive results in less time than traditional talk therapy alone.

To learn more, visit EMDRIA, the organization dedicated to the highest standards of excellence in EMDR training, education and research. 

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EMDR Fact Sheet

The intersection of psychotherapy and the exploration of faith and meaning in daily life.

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“Spirit is an invisible force made visible in all life." – Maya Angelou

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Religious faith, or some form of personal spirituality, can be a powerful source of meaning and purpose. For some, formal religion is not the focus, yet a personal spirituality may be a central force. Spiritual values help many people make sense  of the universe and the purpose of our lives on this earth. Like any other potential source of meaning, religious faith or spirituality seems most authentic and valuable when it enables us to become as fully human as possible. It can help connect us to our own power and agency.

 

Spirituality and religion are critical sources of strength for many clients for finding meaning in life, and support healing and well-being. There is growing empirical evidence that our spiritual values and behaviors can promote physical and psychological well-being. Exploring these values with clients can be integrated with other therapeutic tools to enhance the therapy process.

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Counseling can help clients gain insight into the ways their core beliefs and values are reflected in their behavior. Clients may sometimes discover that they need to reexamine these values. Clinicians must remain open and nonjudgmental, recognizing that there are multiple paths toward fulfilling spiritual needs. It is not the role of the counselor to prescribe any pathway. Counselors can make use of the spiritual and religious beliefs of their clients to help them explore and resolve their problems.

 

I offer spiritual counseling and guidance to individuals and families. I received my Master of Divinity from Boston University. In addition to my formal education in pastoral care and counseling, my work in this area is also influenced by my own interest in Buddhism as well as my training as a Hatha Yoga teacher and my own yoga practice. Trained in pastoral counseling, I am interested in serving spiritual seekers of all kinds on their faith journey.

 

“And above all, remember that the meaning of life is to build a life as if it were a work of art.” – Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

In my years of clinical practice and life experiences I have worked with clients and communities across the lifespan, and I have seen the diversity and similarities of caregivers in many settings.  I have witnessed the stressors and the deep meaning that caregiving holds for caregivers. 

Caregiving children is often done by parents in the nuclear family but just as often parenting is accomplished by grandparents, foster parents, kinship family members and adoptive parents.  Caregiving roles in these different family systems come with their own challenges.  Sometimes counseling support can offer coaching and resources of support.

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More and more caregiving also takes the form of caring for aging parents in family networks and across family members – like siblings and other close family relatives.  The dynamics of caring for an elderly or infirmed parent includes both the day-to-day details of coordinating care as well as the grief and loss that is often experienced both by the elderly person and their caregiving children and family members.  

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Counseling for family members caring for an elderly parent can help relieve the stress of caregivers and facilitate family challenges and aid in positive and supportive communication where families are motivated to support each other.

 Play therapy is a type of therapy which assumes that the first language of a child is play.  As a result, a child is often better able to express and communicate feelings and ideas through play.  

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Children use play in the therapeutic space to express, manage, master and heal from difficult experiences.  Play therapy can be used for any number of child and parent concerns from more significant traumatic experiences like sexual or physical abuse, to behavior difficulty in school, to grief and loss and other major changes and transitions in the life of the child or family. Play therapy and family therapy is offered in a dedicated play therapy space for children of all ages.

 

I have experience treating children in the following areas:

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​Significant changes in the child or family life

Behavior challenges at home and at school

School transition, sexual and physical abuse

Foster children and adoption

Parent consultation and support; teacher consultation as needed