Dealing with Feelings

My practice is very diverse, by intention and by design, not only treating people throughout all phases of their lives — toddlers, school-age children, teens, adults, parents, couples, and families — but also addressing the extensive range of challenges faced throughout the life span, some of which include relationship issues, separation and loss, attachment difficulties, trauma, anxiety, and depression.

Each age and phase we pass through informs the next, and what one learns when younger can be put to practical, productive use as we mature. I treat across age groups because they all inform my work by increasing my knowledge base about where people have been and where they're likely going. This provides those I treat with a more expansive, far-reaching circle of healing and well-being. 

My therapeutic orientation is psychodynamic, which means I look to the past to see how it is impacting the present. And yet people need to function in the here and now, so employing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies and methodologies plays a significant part in my treatment approach.

One of my areas of specialty is the adjustment that comes with any life transition, born out of my own personal and professional experience with international relocation. I also concentrate on dealing with trauma — whether it stems from abuse, an accident, or bullying, to name only a few sources — which can often be notably improved in just a few sessions.

My extensive background in helping children and parents deal with attachment difficulties exposed me to Theraplay®, the Theraplay Institute’s engaging, playful approach to nurturing and improving inter-family relationships. I also use other tools and programs to interact more meaningfully with my clients (you can read a little about Kimochis® and EMDR here, for instance), because as a “feelings doctor,” I am always searching for impactful ways to help people gain access to and increase comfort with their myriad emotions.

Anxiety, depression, and coping with grief have always been a large part of my work, but requests for treating severe anxiety, specifically, have soared in the past year or so. If you’re suffering from this debilitating illness, I am more equipped than ever to help you deal with this particular challenge.

I provide face-to-face psychotherapy in my office, as well as teleconferencing coaching/consulting to children and adults living abroad. My approach combines compassion, reflection, concrete tools, creativity, humor, and the experience and knowledge I have gained from each and every person I have been privileged to work with over these many years.