Welcome

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist with 23 years of experience in the field, having practiced in New York City for the first nine, and San Francisco for the last fourteen. My practice is currently split between two offices in the Bay Area – one in Downtown San Francisco in the North Beach neighborhood and one in Downtown San Bruno.

I have compassionately and successfully treated people of all ages from vast and varied racial, ethnic, and sexual orientations, experiencing a range of diagnosis and treatment issues from depression, anxiety, trauma, adjustment and loss issues, relationship difficulties, work-related stress, and much more.

By reading this far, you must be serious about partnering with a trusted, experienced clinician who is capable of understanding, appreciating and helping you improve your current circumstances – one who can provide reliable support, guidance and help in overcoming the obstacles you are facing. removing unwanted behaviors and/or simply just feeling better!

Wherever you are on your emotional and psychic journey, whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by circumstantial stressors, or seeking personal growth or more fulfillment from life, I’m committed to helping you improve and become a better, more effective, happier version of you!

“The mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.’  — Buddha

About

My Training and Background:

I earned my Masters of Social Work from Adelphi University in New York in 1996, where I worked in clinics and hospitals for nine years and operated a private practice from 2001-2004. I moved to San Francisco in 2004 and worked as a therapist at Kaiser Permanente for another nine years. I currently run my practice in downtown San Francisco located at the cusp of North Beach and Chinatown.  Check out my profile in Psychology Today.

​What I Offer: I provide compassionate, conscientious and meaningful psychotherapeutic treatment to individuals, couples and families. Having worked with diverse ethnicities, races, cultures, ages and sexual orientations, and an array of diagnostic classifications and presentations, I have vast and well-developed skills, resources and experience to share and impart.

I follow an eclectic approach, employing a blend of Jungian, Psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioral as well as Gestalt treatments.  I weave in years of Buddhist training to my practice and possess a strong understanding of and foundation with Twelve-Step.

Areas of Expertise: I have particular interest and proficiency in working with relationship issues, emotional matters involving divorce, codependency, assertiveness-training, anger management and work-related stress.  Additionally I focus on adjustment issues such as relocation, job loss, loss of a loved one and blocked creativity.

​My Style: My highly personal, warm, and authentic demeanor helps to quickly create an environment of trust, rapport and open and honest communication, encouraging authentic progress and effective change. I take a direct and active role in the therapeutic relationship. I participate in session dialogue, offering compassionate insight, observations, and when appropriate, employ skillful confrontation.

I establish a treatment plan in alliance with the patient, defining goals and objectives of therapy from the outset. I also often suggest homework assignments and exercises, encouraging the patient’s involvement and active participation in their own treatment.

​​ “Changing the world begins with the very personal process of changing yourself, the only place you can begin is where you are, and the only time you can begin is always now.”         — Gary Zukav

Treatment Approaches

The best results arrive when we develop a treatment plan collaboratively. During our initial sessions, we will explore the treatment approaches that may best address and fultill all of your goals. 

Here are the methodologies I regularly and actively access and employ:

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

A highly effective, structured, and solution-oriented approach focused on improving overall quality of thought. Designed to identify and eliminate distorted, “negative core thinking” replaced with more rational, reliable and hopeful messages, we  “re-learn,” re-program and transform our outlooks, perspectives and mood states.  

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a related treatment form to CBT, and is based in Buddhist and Mindfulness principles. DBT fosters tangible skills that helps manage unstable and disturbing emotions and mood-states. Concepts such as ‘Distress Tolerance’, ‘Radical Acceptance’, and ‘Emotional Regulation’  foster and encourage a more sensible, stable and reliable emotional process.

​Psychodynamic

A more traditional, historical way of examining unresolved past conflicts, often rooted in childhood and most commonly associated to the ‘Freudian’ approach. Successful psychodynamic treatment cultivates insight and expands awareness.  It promotes and encourages the exploration of dysfunctional family relationship patterns that continue to impact and interfere with present-day behavior and functioning. 

Gestalt Therapy

This is a very useful approach with individuals who would like to go beyond the construct of traditional talk therapy. ‘Experiential’ in construct, Gestalt focused on acting out the dynamics of our deeply ingrained pathologies and psychological traps. Gestalt employs ‘dialoguing’ with conflicting voices that inhabit our subconscious.  With the purpose of cultivating and sharpening our conscious awareness, Gestalt therapy eliminates confusion and disharmony, creating more profound clarity, certainty, and confidence.

Jungian

More recently associated with Transpersonal work, this is an approach that first truly acknowledged the spiritual and its influence on the psyche. Jung introduced the notion of the ‘higher self’  in opposition to the egoic, ‘lower-self’ existence, with which we are all so identified. He proposed and encouraged instead, a relationship with the ‘Eternal’ or ‘Universal’, which helps cutivate a more authentic sense of belonging, psychic groundedness and emotional stability.

​Buddhism

Having studied Buddhism extensively and even taught some along the way, it has become a significant part of my life and practice. Notions such as Equanimity, Impermanence and Non-Attachment wonderfully support the principles of psychotherapy, offering a marvelous compliment to treatment. With ‘Mindfulness’ (or graceful awareness) at its root, Buddhist principles go a long way to alleviate stress and improve overall quality of life. It is always accessible, just a ‘turn of the mind’ away!

EMDR

I also employ an EMDR-type of treatment used largely for relieving symptoms associated with trauma – although I am NOT currently certified in EMDR

Rates

My Rate is $150 per 50 minute session — in some cases, sliding scale rates are available.

​​​Free 15 minute initial consultation via private video conference or private phone consultation.

Discounted Rates for a Package of 5 Sessions: $700 (from $750)

Discounted Rates for a Package of 10 Sessions: $1350 (from $1500)

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​​My practice accepts some insurance plans; please inquire via CONTACT FORM on next page.