I am a therapist who helps individuals, couples, and families understand how their current and past experiences and relationships shape their present struggles so they can move forward with greater agency. With a master’s degree from NYU, I strike a balance between using my expertise and knowledge to guide individuals to challenge unhelpful patterns and narratives that are making them suffer, while not having a set agenda. I appreciate how diagnosis can provide direction, as well as relief and explanations, but I also know there is way more to an individual’s story than a label. Previously providing therapy for adults and teens, I’ve witnessed how many come into therapy feeling stuck in ways they can’t fully articulate, trapped in a loop of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. I support people to see their capacity for change and transformation by being curious about why they are the way they are and making meaning from their painful experiences, inner conflicts, and defenses that may have previously served them well but are no longer working.
Therapy isn’t about finding quick answers or solutions, but noticing how a person relates to themselves, the people around them, and the world. Safety and trust are vital foundations upon which these productive and sometimes difficult conversations can take place. Before becoming a therapist, I had a career in documentary film. What drew me to that work was a passion for creating opportunities to share people’s stories, inner worlds, struggles, and the systems they navigate. As a therapist, I bring that same curiosity and sensitivity to building an environment where people and their stories can be heard without judgment. I also value open conversations about race, class, gender, sexuality, and power, and how difference creates divergent experiences while not succumbing to the idea that difference must always threaten connection and common humanity.
Working with couples and families, I find it rewarding to support partners and family members to relate to each other in new ways, moving beyond entrenched roles, misunderstandings, and unspoken pain. Both family therapy and couples therapy can often be the first time family members and partners articulate their needs, vulnerabilities, and feelings to each other. I'm also conscious of the challenges of couples therapy and family therapy, where there can be competing agendas, emotions running high, and a strong pull to familiar dysfunction. I work to treat a family and a couple as a whole and help individuals tolerate discomfort and slow down enough to reflect rather than react. Through these efforts, they can deepen their understanding of stuck dynamics and set shared goals for how they want to improve their lives and relationships.
In my therapy with teens, I recognize how much teens have on their plates between formulating their identities, beliefs, and personal values; confronting myriad issues like low self-esteem, body issues, and the complex world of social media; and navigating the dual pressures of their family and social lives. I am ready to jump into this mess with teens and forge a relationship in which they are taken seriously and their feelings are not devalued or minimized. Though teens can at times be tough to crack, on the other side is creativity, playfulness, and authenticity. Adolescence is also a stage where there is a push for autonomy alongside a deep need for support and validation. This can often be confusing for both teens and their parents. I take seriously my role in aiding teens in exploring their developing values and identities while also working in the spirit of collaboration with parents, particularly around how much support a teen may need.
pronouns: she/her (read more about why I list my pronouns here)