Clinical Background
I’ve been in social work since 2009 and have worked in a variety of environments mostly in the NYC and Philadelphia areas.
I did community-based mental health work from 2009-2017:
- Before graduate school, I worked at an outpatient day treatment program for adults living with mental illness and also worked alongside clinicians on an inpatient hospital unit.
- I completed my MSW at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work in 2013.
- I worked on an assertive community treatment team doing home visits with folks living with chronic mental illness in an effort to keep people in the community out of hospitals.
- I also worked as a counselor at an outpatient drug and alcohol center.
- For 5 years, I helped run Fountain House in NYC, a radical leader in mental health care at the center of a diverse therapeutic community of clinicians and clients. Fountain House pioneered the idea of a holistic, psychosocial practice that seeks to prioritize rehabilitation and reintegration into the worlds of friends, community, and meaningful work.
I transitioned into private practice in 2017, first in NYC and then in Philly. From 2018-2021 I was a staff therapist and then clinical manager at Walnut Psychotherapy Center, a group therapy practice that works with queer and trans folks. Since 2022, I’ve been working as a solo practitioner.
My Approach
I am not an eclectic practitioner, nor am I rigid. I have clarity in my work and over the years I have gained confidence and positive feedback in how I practice. I believe that we have rich, nuanced understandings of ourselves and our life experiences and that psychotherapy helps us make sense of what’s happened. I practice simply, with great intent and a strong understanding of foundational psychological concepts.
In my therapy room, I will take my time getting to know you and not rush into interpretations and interventions. I am an active collaborator with my clients and think movement begins when there is an authentic, mutual investment in the therapeutic relationship. I am a conversationalist, not a blank slate. I’m warm, I’m honest. I don’t have all the answers nor do I give homework. I think that softness and resiliency are not in opposition and I hope that our therapy together will uncover our capacity for both.
Areas of Focus
My practice has a wide focus, having worked with diverse people over the years, but my current areas of specific focus are:
- Polyamory, non-monogamy, and variant relationship structures
- Sex and sexuality
- Substance use
- Gender and identity formation
- Religious trauma and spiritual abuse
While these may be niche specialties, I’m comfortable with broader mental health concerns around depression, anxiety, family relationships, and navigating major life transitions. I recognize that most of us come into psychotherapy with the desire to talk, to process, and to sift through one’s life.