Areas of expertise and special skills

  • Relationship counseling.  Couples come in with issues of whether to stay together/break up, how to improve communication/discuss difficult issues without animosity, or improving sexual intimacy. Adult clients might bring in their teenage children for family therapy.
  • Marriage/relationship issues related to kink or non-monogamy. Couples can hit some bumps when they incorporate kink in their relationships, open their marriage or incorporate another partner. I've worked with couples and some triads to work on issues such as jealousy and envy, time- and expectation-management, breaking up, emotional regulation and anxiety management. Often couples who are in a serious consensual kink dynamic, such as 24/7 or other ongoing D/S relationships, want to work with someone who can understand the psychology behind their relationship style and work through any problems encountered, address emotional safety, and work on everyday couple problems with someone who understands their background. 
  • Sexual issues in relationships.  Low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, inability to achieve orgasm, and sex-related anxiety are the big issues from which many clients seek relief. Ruling out medical issues, there's a lot we can work on in the realms of body image, self-worth, sexual confidence, and creating more trust in relationships. 
  • EMDR Psychotherapy. Clients seek EMDR to work through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from specific incidents (such as an accident or an assault) or from complex PTSD (ongoing emotional abuse from a parent or spouse). EMDR can be used for a wide range of issues and I have worked with individuals to increase empathy, heal from a traumatic divorce, manage emotional reactivity (anger management), reduce anxiety, and heal phobia. 
  • Dreamwork. Working through a dream in a therapy session can unlock all sorts of valuable information from the unconscious that is highly relevant to the current situation for which you seek therapy. I use a client-centered, Jungian-inspired approach to dreams.
  • Hypnotherapy. I use hypnosis in conjunction with talk therapy to add a bit of energy and intention when the client is in the process of making behavioral changes or changing deeply held beliefs or thought patterns. It can be helpful for eating/food/body issues, trichotillomania, and phobias. 

   Special populations: individuals, couples, and families

  • Alternative Lifestyles. 

  • Non-traditional and blended families.

  • Adult Children of Narcissists/personality disordered parents, emotional abuse/neglect/emotionally unavailable parents. 

   Common areas of focus 

  • Grief and Loss. Such as the death of a loved one, losing a career, or the end of a relationship.
  • Healing Childhood Trauma. Just because you grew up in a dysfunctional or abusive family does not mean you are doomed to repeat history. You can be happy! With one eye in the past and one towards present-day, we examine how childhood physical, sexual, and emotional trauma shape your current beliefs, behaviors and self-imposed limitations and set new empowering goals that we then work towards achieving. We learn to make new choices in the present that open up new pathways to well-being.
  • Work/Life Balance. Do you feel pulled in a million different directions, such as kids, mortgages, commutes, sharing household duties, finances, work expectations, aging parents, your social circle, and a series of daily trade-offs? 
  • Impostor Syndrome. Do you discount any praise or promotions you receive as a fluke, and dwell on criticism, no matter how constructive? Do you feel like it's a matter of time people find out you are a fraud, and tend to minimize your skills and talents? 
  • Gender Identity issues and gender transition. This is a very personal journey and client needs vary depending on the individual. I focus on providing a safe space for the client to explore their perception of their place in the gender spectrum and what feels right in terms of identification and gender presentation. If the client should choose to pursue hormone therapy or surgical intervention, I can work with them to assess their readiness for this step and with their other health professionals towards that goal. 
  • Silicon Valley Stress. The stress of work/life balance, plus the added stress of "staying relevant," being "on point," keeping up with the Joneses, and making it all look easy on social media. 
  • Mind/body/food issues. Clients work with me on body acceptance, making physical behavioral changes, and binge eating.
  • Boundaries. Whether they are physical, emotional, sexual, intrapsychic, or within their relationships, the ability to set healthy limits and respect those of others is huge in my work and essential for a happy adult life.