Approach & Areas of Specialty

My approach to psychotherapy is inspired by the belief that we are all human and therefore have human ways of suffering and experiencing life. Because of this, I approach my work with an open attitude that wonders not what is wrong with you, but rather, what happened to you? My goal is to help you become aware of those unconscious patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating to others that define who you are so that you can better understand their impact on your present-day problems. In doing so, my hope is that you will gain both self-awareness and greater flexibility in your ways of seeing, and experiencing, everyday life.

I offer psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy, which means that therapy with me involves us having conversations that will help you understand and appreciate yourself in a deeper, more meaningful way. We accomplish this by approaching what you discuss in therapy with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to reconsider what you thought you knew about yourself and how you show up in the world. From a contemporary psychoanalytic perspective, lifelong experiences with others, from early caregivers to present-day peers, friends, or lovers, have a defining and lasting impact on how we come to see ourselves, how we engage in life, and how we respond to life’s challenges.

I encourage people who work with me to say whatever is on their mind, as random as it might seem. Doing so allows room for thoughts, feelings, urges, and other material to come up that otherwise wouldn’t in everyday life. When we explore these together, you will gain greater self-awareness and an understanding of what these things can tell us about your current struggles. I recommend meeting once or twice per week at minimum so that you are able to get the most out of the therapeutic process.

My clinical training and experiences have allowed me to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds struggling with a wide variety of personal issues. That said, while I maintain professional humility and consider myself a lifelong learner, past research, clinical, and personal experiences have allowed me to develop particular expertise in the following areas:

Racial, Sexual, & Gender Identity

I have personal and professional experience with issues of identity development, belonging, immigration, racism, sexism, heterosexism, gender identity & expression, and challenges that may arise in connection to these. While your current struggles may not be clearly related to these issues, it is important to consider the impact they may have on your life, if any. Speaking to someone who is well-versed in these areas can help you get a better understanding of how they may have influenced your past life experiences and thus played a role in your mental health.

Interpersonal Issues

At our core, we are all profoundly social in nature. Our relationships are the foundation upon which we develop a sense of who we are, our self worth, and how to behave in relation to other people. Depending on our lived experiences, past relationships may have created problematic dynamics that affect how we relate to others presently. These past relationships include those we have developed with our primary caregivers, friends, lovers, relatives, colleagues, or other peers. I have a special interest in helping people better understand how relationships throughout their lives have helped shape their current patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. While a lot of this work involves exploring past and current relationships to others, therapy is also a space where we can discuss our emerging relationship as well. Such explorations provide us with material to make sense of your relational patterns and how these may be related to your current mood and functioning.

Major Life Transitions

Across different clinical settings, I have helped individuals struggling with changes to their mood, functioning, character, and overall outlook on life after experiencing a major life change. Major life changes can include, but are not limited to: breakups, new medical diagnoses, gender expansion or transition, immigration, anticipated or sudden death of loved ones, or shifts in school, work, and career. Depending on the nature and circumstances surrounding a major life transition, we may experience increased anxiety, sadness, sleep disturbance, changes to our interpersonal patterns, or general manner of being. Because life changes disrupt the equilibrium that once was, many of us can struggle to cope or adjust. Therapy can help you gain clarity and a better appreciation of how the changes you’ve experienced have impacted you, and how to move forward with your life.