About me and what to expect from therapy.

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I'm a Licensed Clinical Social worker, I hold licenses to practice in Colorado (where I reside) and California.

 

I received my Masters degree in Social Work from USC, focusing on Clinical Mental Health, Psychotherapy practice, and strengths-based systems of recovery from mental illness. 

 

I grew up in the Bay Area and worked for a School-Based Non-Profit that helps children and young adults for 2 years before moving to Los Angeles where I worked for 10 years in a variety of Mental Health settings.  I've been in private practice since 2015. 

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Though less so these days, I've been very active with the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI).

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I've garnered clinical experience working in community-based clinics, private practice, and University counseling. I have worked with diverse groups of people across the life span, of all sexual/gender orientations, and have a particular amount of experience working with adults 18-55 years old. All people are welcome in my office.

 

My training as a Therapist is in a modality called Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP). 

 

I completed 4-years of ISTDP Core training in Los Angeles; am certified by the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association (IEDTA) and have trained with many different ISTDP supervisors.  I engage in ongoing ISTDP supervision to continually hone clinical skills. 

I love teaching and supervising and am currently in ISTDP Teacher Training with Jon Frederickson, MSW. 

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ISTDP is a trauma-informed, attachment-oriented, experiential, emotion-focused therapy with psychoanalytic roots. Research has shown (see Allan Abbass) ISTDP to effectively treat many common mental health and behavioral difficulties.  ISTDP helps people resolve long-standing difficulties with anxiety, depression, intimacy and closeness, un-resolved grief, sexual conflicts, entrenched forms of self-criticism/sabotage, obsessive thinking, and more. Together, we can help restore or build inner and outer capacities and connections, from wanting to having.  

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Therapy is collaborative and there is no silver bullet.  I will work with you to understand your difficulties and give my full effort to help you resolve them.  It will require your best effort as well. 

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Mandated Reporter: I am a mandated reporter, which means only in the following cases I am obligated to break confidentiality and report: suspected/reported child abuse/neglect (CPS), elder abuse/neglect (ADP), concrete report of plan + intent to kill oneself, or concrete plan + intent to kill another (Law Enforcement).