About

Clinical experience

I’ve worked with a variety of folks: I’ve worked with families impacted by domestic violence, I’ve worked with teenagers who live with severe anxiety and mood disorders at a psychiatric hospital day treatment program, I’ve worked with newly arrived immigrant teenagers in a public high school, and I’ve worked with adults and families at risk of losing their housing. Before going into social services in New York City, I also worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon, and the lessons I learned there affected me profoundly and still serve me and my work.

My path to becoming a therapist

I used to work in international development, and in doing this work, I was most invested in the idea that the beneficiaries of my work could also be co-collaborators. I see my therapy clients this way, as well; I may have specialized training and an up-to-date understanding of the latest research, but there is only one expert on you and your experience, and that is you. It is through our joint therapeutic relationship that we can get to a place neither of us could have arrived at on our own. Among fields of mental healthcare, social work in particular resonates in its commitment to person-centered, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive care. You are a whole person with a complex set of experiences, and deserve to be seen that way. For me, the intersection of mental healthcare and social justice is a critical place to work from.

The best part of the work

I am constantly blown away by my clients’ resilience; seeking out mental healthcare in and of itself an immense strength that should not be underestimated. This work has also made me realize what a big privilege it is just to sit with someone.

I aim to be my clients' advocate and earn their trust, to hear their stories and bear witness to their strength, to create a plan and work towards contentment. But all that ends up being secondary to the fact that for forty-five minutes, we have each other's time and attention.

And somehow, that ends up being the most special part of all.

I am a social worker and trauma therapist who supports clients in seeking pleasure, safety, healing, and joy. I believe that a lot of our most important answers come from our bodies, and I believe in becoming curious about the functions of our behaviors and when they might have served us, rather than pathologizing the choices we make. I am a current candidate at the two-year trauma studies program at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy (ICP) in New York City.

Themes I explore in my sessions:

• Navigating themes around sex, sexuality, and romantic relationships (especially queer and/or nonmonogamous relationships) and the queering of relationships
• Racial identity development for white folks; navigating white guilt
• Professional burnout, internalized capitalism, feelings about productivity, and moving through the world with ADHD
• Accountability, apologies, and repairing harm we’ve caused
• Exploring how trauma affects our bodies and reprocessing painful traumatic memories (currently training in the Trauma Studies program at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy)
• Reclaiming pleasure and joy after trauma, especially sexual trauma
• Coercive control, intimate partner violence, and fear in romantic relationships
• Obsessions, compulsions, and unpleasant urges or “checking” behaviors

My practice is currently virtual and I am licensed to work with clients based in New York State. My LCSW license number is 094797.

Anti-oppression and anti-racism in practice

As a white, cisgender clinician, I consider it essential to be anti-racist and anti-oppressive in my work. This isn’t a passive pursuit for me; I spend a lot of time and energy thinking about the larger systems that determine who has money, power, and privilege in our world, and my own role in that.

This is a big part of what drove me to study social work. The reality is, there is an inherent power dynamic in a therapeutic relationship, and it’s possible for this dynamic to mimic larger ones in our society.

This introduces the possibility of further trauma and harm. I am asking you for your openness and vulnerability, and I recognize that this is no small ask, particularly when your ability to be vulnerable may be influenced by the larger power structures in our society.

In exchange, I promise that I will be intentional and sensitive about the ways we explore the harm that may have been caused in the past and the impact that has on our lives today.

I know that all of these truths are in the room as we speak, and by being conscious of them and open about them, I can work to mitigate them.

I also recognize that I am imperfect in this pursuit, and regularly participate in a processing group intended for white-identified clinicians to help me identify my own blind spots in this work.

A collaborative approach

I think of our sessions as a collaboration: I have a certain set of expertise, and you have a certain set of expertise.

I find that one of the most helpful angles I can take as a therapist is that of pattern observer.

So often, our own patterns live in our blind spots.

As you go through your life, you’re likely carrying out patterns that date back a long time, that might have served you once but perhaps aren’t serving you any longer.

One excellent benefit of therapy is that as someone else hears the stories you tell, they can begin to stitch together some of those patterns and uncover a deeper version of who you are.

What might those patterns tell us about you, and what else might those patterns be hiding about who you are?

Strengths-based therapy

On a personal level, I am endlessly optimistic. As a social worker, I believe deeply in strengths-based work, noting someone’s strengths over focusing on their deficits.

Of course, when appropriate, I can hold space for your hopelessness and validate those feelings, but I will always believe in your resilience and strength. My approach is one that is deeply rooted in love and hope.

Therapy is all about you and what you need to get out of it; in each other relationship in your life, there is a constant negotiation and renegotiation of roles and responsibilities.

Here, I can be impartial and separate from those relationships and negotiations; I am here for you.

I typically won’t make conclusions or give direct advice; rather, our conversations will likely be more exploratory than prescriptive.