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Clients often tell me that they feel deeply understood in our work together. While there are many wonderful ways of doing therapy (and you can read more about my specific training below), my approach is foremost attuned to the unique person sitting with me. I view my own curious, compassionate, and accepting attitude as an invitation for my clients to practice bringing these same qualities to their own inner inquiry. We often find that such seemingly "gentle" qualities are actually robust and effective allies in change, and that self-criticism, people-pleasing, and just pushing through are not the only options. I find that this approach is especially important for my work with highly sensitive, deeply feeling, and neurodivergent adults and children.

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Throughout my career I have had two professional passions: play therapy for children and psychodynamic psychotherapy with adults. Sometimes folks are surprised that I work with such a wide range of ages! However, I find that where adults more often use words and children more often use play, the spirit of the work is the same--expressing in a safe space and in a strong relationship what is difficult to express elsewhere, gaining curiosity, acceptance, and compassion for ourselves and our experiences, and using this increased self-awareness to become more capable and intentional in living a life that closely aligns with our values and our unique way of being in the world.

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Training and Background

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I received my master's degree in clinical social work from Smith College School for Social Work, and have worked clinically in preschools, elementary schools, a psychoanalytic clinic, and in private practice.  I completed a two year psychoanalytic mentorship and supervision program through the Philadelphia Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology and was certified as a Circle of Security parenting facilitator, running parenting groups with a focus on parent-child attachment.

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I began my career as a research assistant, contributing to studies on sleep and mood disorders, school-based mindfulness interventions, identifying successful qualities of early childhood programs, childism and child therapy, and helping to film and publish research for a documentary critically examining the use of technology for mental health in the military through a psychoanalytic lens. I have enjoyed contributing to research in the field and have been published in Psychoanalysis, Culture, & Society and Journal of Applied Scientific and Psychoanalytic Empirical Research (JASPER). I have also enjoyed spreading the word about play therapy, childism, and child-centered work by providing trainings and peer supervision on the use of humanistic play-based therapies.

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I ground my clinical work in psychodynamic therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness/self-compassion, parts work (IFS-informed), play therapy, and social justice.

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