Over the past twelve years I have supported adults, youth, couples and families as a health educator, clinical social worker or psychotherapist. My goal is to assist you in gaining manageability in your life, to develop intimacy in relationships and to cultivate wellness through self-care. My approach includes interactive talk therapy combined with expressive arts modalities such as guided imagery, collage, drawing, movement and breath work when appropriate.

Our work together can provide relief from difficult life transitions in a short period of time. It can also provide an opportunity to reflect on complex experiences from the past that contribute to current unwanted behavior patterns negatively affecting your life. Benefits of our work may include:

• Gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges in life to facilitate growth and change.
• Improving communication skills to foster deeper levels of intimacy in relationships.
• Recovering from substance abuse, chemical dependency and co-dependency.
• Supporting families coping with perinatal issues such as, infertility, infant illness, developmental disabilities, miscarriage and neonatal death.
• Freedom from abusive relationships.
• Facilitating healing of childhood trauma and issues of grief and loss.
• Supporting people who’ve lost a loved one to an anticipated or traumatic death.
• Transforming mental health issues like depression, anger and anxiety into meaningful life experiences. 

I have extensive experience working with people in the following areas:

• Child and adolescent medical and behavioral issues
• Domestic violence
• Developmental disabilities
• Grief and loss
• Mental health issues (i.e., depression, anger, anxiety, grief)
• Substance abuse and recovery
• Traumatic loss

My education and training includes:

• Bachelors of Science in Health Education, San Diego State University, 1992
• Masters in Social Work, San Francisco State University, 1997
• Post Graduate Psychotherapy Training, Marina Counseling Center, 2003
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker, California Board of Behavioral Sciences, 2003

I am a member of the following affiliations:

• National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
• American Professional Association (APA)
• A Home Within: Building Continuous Connections for Foster Youth
• Looking to End Abuse Permanently (LEAP) San Francisco