You may have a desire to work with someone who you feel understands your struggles. Not only that, you may feel ready to gain more insight, make connections and experience “a-ha” moments in order to achieve a deeper understanding of why or how you have come to develop yourself as the person you are today.
Maybe you’re ready to get into it and would like the ideal therapist who can really support you, challenge you, and guide you towards making those connections. What’s more, you want these insights and learnings to spur change - whether that’s in the way you feel about yourself or the way you behave. Being the outcome-oriented person you may be (I mean, honestly, who isn’t, right?), it may not be easy to completely divorce yourself from wanting to see outcomes in therapy too. I understand.
If you feel like you have hit a wall in terms of getting help from people around you or you’ve come to a point of trying to take care of things on your own but are spinning your wheels, you’ve made the right decision in seeking help. People often find relief in knowing I am someone who is not associated with their close relationships or job so that I can provide them with a more objective perspective based on my professional vantage point.
I commend you for taking the big step of courage to try something new. Whether you are someone who has sought therapy in the past or this is your first time, I would like to add value to your life and be that source of support.
My understanding of the challenges associated with striving to survive and excel in a competitive, fast-paced, and outcomes-driven world is very real and close to home.
Having grown up and attended schools on the East Coast and been surrounded by other intelligent, hardworking, and high achieving individuals, I am no stranger to the constant strive for perfection and feelings of overwhelm and confusion. I am proud of my career achievements and yet I know the mental, emotional, and physical toll it can take. My own professional and personal growth process has included the incorporation of dedicated mindfulness meditation practice, the support of mentors, and a whole lot of reflecting and revising the ways in which I live my life.
I am someone who geeks out about statistics and research while also enjoying spiritual and personal development books and teachers. I believe my desire for life-long learning helps inform my worldview and my approach to being a therapist. I value both acceptance and compassion in addition to valuing change and growth. This has informed my passion for helping people like you. I am not one to shy away from challenging you to try new things (and that might mean asking you to consider doing less!), to explore some tough things, while being one of your biggest allies.
I’m so glad you’re taking this step forward.
book A CONSULT to get started or to ask me your questions about therapy or career counseling
Common Questions Asked About Me
what do you like to do in your spare time?
I listen to a lot of podcasts. I write and journal. I read a lot of non-fiction books and recommend many to my clients and friends. Yoga, hiking, rock climbing walls, city biking, and moseying around the streets of New York occupy the majority of my time outside of the virtual office space.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan but spent the majority of my adolescent and young adult years in the DC/MD/VA area. I loved my time in graduate school in Western Massachusetts. I spent a wonderful year in Chicago, IL. before locating and staying relatively put in the NJ/NY area where I reside today.
what made you want to be a therapist?
I’ve been a caregiver from a young age. I’ve been obsessed with finding connections and deeper meanings in many things in life. Sometimes that is my own experience and often it’s in others’ feelings and thoughts. I want to help people feel like they’re living their lives aligned with their values, contributing in the ways they can, and enjoying the process. My own journey with perfectionism, caregiving, and feeling “Good Enough” informs the way I help, write, and live.
The “Official” Stuff
Education
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
University of Maryland College Park, B.S., Psychology
Affiliations
Women’s Mental Health Consortium, Member and Co-Chair of the Early Career Members Committee
Teachers College, Columbia University, Adjunct Clinical Supervisor in the Department of Counseling & Clinical Psychology
Clinical experiences
Prior to private practice, I worked at various college and university counseling centers including:
Pace University NYC, Counseling Center, Staff Psychologist and Group Therapy Coordinator 2017-2019
Montclair State University, Counseling and Psychological Services, Postdoctoral Clinician, 2016-2017
University of Illinois at Chicago, Counseling Center, Health Services Psychology Intern, 2015-2016