ABOUT ME
I have spent my adult life studying what it means to be a human being. I began by earning a PhD in European intellectual history at the University of California, Berkeley. I was interested in understanding our emotional and social complexity through the lens of literature, philosophy, and political and social theory. As much as I enjoyed the contemplative part of my life, I was more compelled by the interactive dialogue of teaching, when I could show my students why these abstract ideas or dense novels had something profound to tell them about their own malaise and confusion and the society around them. The more ways you learn to look at the world, the more ways it opens up its possibilities to you.
This desire to make thinking a live and transformative process led me to a career in clinical psychology. I could draw on my background in the social sciences to help people come to a better understanding of self and society. My doctorate in psychology added a scientific perspective to my solid background in the humanities as I learned about cognitive science, physiology, and neuroscience.
The term “therapist” comes from the Greek word therapon—an attendant who carries weapons into battle and is willing to stand in if necessary. After ten years of studying human psychology across a spectrum disciplines, I have a well stocked armory. I find this to be a helpful description of what a coach does as well.
In my private practice, I have put these ideas to the test of solving real-life situations, helping people with traumatic life events, difficult emotions, and complex relationships and challenges. People often come to see me initially because they are in crisis: they need to be relieved of pain, unwanted habits, or corrosive situations and regain control of their feelings and their lives. I give them immediate guidance and tools for getting stable. But I don’t believe in psychotherapy simply as a process of diagnosis and treatment. It is a sustained relationship that leads to self-discovery. After ten year of clinical practice, I know what works and what doesn’t—or more precisely, with so many ways of analyzing life experience at my disposal, I can help people find what works for them.
As I have helped my clients grow, I have grown as well. I started what is now a successful, thriving private practice by buying a couch and crossing my fingers that someone would find me. Since then, I have learned how to plan, market, and grow a business that reflects my values and priorities. Like many women, I have built my business while raising two kids (one a stepchild) and trying to preserve room for my own self-care. As the child of an immigrant, I am sensitive to the difficult art of straddling different cultural expectations and feeling the reverberations of family history.
I aim to bring these experiences and sensibilities to bear in my work with you as you explore your own opportunities for growth.