I am a NY State licensed Psychologist and EMDRIA Certified EMDR Therapist, also trained in the Flash Technique, with extensive experience working with demographically diverse populations with a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic issues. My specialties include working with individuals struggling with complex trauma, anxiety and mood disorders, addiction, chronic medical and pain conditions (i.e., HIV/AIDS, HCV, fibromyalgia, etc.). I have extensive experience working with family of origin attachment issues and relational conflict, career and life transitions, creative blocks, loss and bereavement, identity confusion and low self-esteem, as well as work with identified populations (i.e., LGBTQ and performing artists). I tailor my treatment to the uniqueness of the individual. I am focused on clients’ presenting conditions, as well as being sensitive to issues of culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation/identity, disability, religion/spirituality, and socioeconomic status. I have dedicated myself to increasing my skill set to allow for more targeted and individualized care. I work with individuals, couples/families, and groups and can provide virtual therapy (webcam) during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
I am intensively trained in a variety of experiential modalities including Attachment-Focused EMDR with Dr. Laurel Parnell; The Flash Technique with Dr. Philip Manfield, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) with Behavioral Tech; Somatic Experiencing with the SE™ Trauma Institute; Psychodrama with the Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute; multiple Mindfulness Based Interventions (MB-Relapse Prevention, MB-Cognitive Therapy, MB-Pain Management, and MB-Stress Reduction); Harm Reduction Therapy; and Family Systems Therapy.
I believe that we all have an inherent capacity for growth and change. It is only our insecurities that prevent us from achieving our optimal potential. Within a collaborative therapeutic space, I strive to create a sanctuary of compassion and safety. This allows clients to begin their journey of self-discovery and emotional healing as they work to overcome personal and societal obstacles. In my prior career as a professional ballet dancer, I came to understand the importance of creating balance by nurturing the “whole self.” Thus I utilize an integrative strength-based therapeutic approach that emphasizes the mind-body-spirit connection. This promotes healing at a neurobiological level by fostering and respecting a person’s own inner resources and wisdom. I encourage the development of skills “in action” designed to increase self-awareness and to improve one’s ability to tolerate, embrace, and respond to experiences as they are in any given moment, in a conscious manner rather than in an emotionally-driven reactive manner or on automatic pilot mode. My goal is to help each individual discover and create their own “life worth living.”