About

change for the better

Solid Support

While some kind of ache brings you to therapy, I believe everyone also brings an intrinsic motivation to thrive, even if this feels distant at the start.

I’ll help us notice this, and as this drive is nurtured, many people feel more alive, motivated, and hopeful – and start to feel better. We’ll let in the fresh air.  

We’ll talk, and we’ll pause, and we’ll take our time to sort out what’s making life complicated.  And while we can’t change the past or control the future, together, we can help you to relax, untangle the remnants of the past from the realities of the present, and be yourself. 

 

My areas of specialization include helping people with the following:

  • Feeling more alive, capable and genuine – and less depressed, anxious or stuck;
  • Healing from trauma – both acute and chronic;
  • Understanding relationship problems and recurring patterns;
  • Holding boundaries with clarity and flexibility, and developing deeper relationships;
  • Developing healthy coping strategies;
  • Navigating change, choices and life transitions;
  • Accompaniment through grief and loss.

“The answer is always in the entire story, not a piece of it.”

– Jim Harrison

My Approach

I believe therapy should be a place where you feel good – not always in the sense of happiness – but in the sense that some part of you recognizes that what we’re doing feels helpful and aligned. In addition to focusing on the problems and pains bringing you to therapy, we’ll also focus on the experiences associated with healing and exploring what feels “right”.

My approach is informed by neurobiological research that promotes the brain’s resilience and supports the importance of relationships in our ability to manage and feel our feelings. The primary style of therapy I practice is AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy), and I am a certified AEDP therapist and supervisor by the AEDP Institute in New York, New York.  In addition, I’m influenced by and trained in other models, including Internal Family Systems, polyvagal theory, and DBT.

I graduated from Kenyon College and the University of Chicago, and have over 20 years of experience as a therapist.  My roots are in rural Pennsylvania, where I live with my family, and treasure open spaces.