Born and raised in Calabasas, I have been licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in the San Fernando Valley since 1995. My academic qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, and I have completed my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, ABD, researching Attachment Theory with a focus on performing arts and creativity. I’ve done advanced work in Attachment Theory with Erik Hesse and Mary Main, years of study of neurobiology under acclaimed child psychiatrist Dan Siegel, advanced training with Terry Real in the work of Relational Recovery and extensive work in the behavioral system of Attachment and Commitment Therapy. I have also studied under Tibetan Buddhist teacher Ken McLeod for nearly twenty years, and I maintain a steady meditation practice, which deeply informs and supports my clinical work. Learning is a never-ending process.

In my nearly two decades of experience in individual, family and group therapy, I’ve helped children and adults with a range of issues, including anxiety and depression; relationship difficulties and communication skills; substance use; grief, loss, and trauma; ADHD, Learning Disabilities and other school difficulties including lack of motivation; defiant/disruptive behaviors; attachment and separation; parent-child conflict; families of divorce; crisis management, and other mental health and relational challenges. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that individual problems cannot be understood outside the context of family and community.

While I work mostly with individuals and families, Group Therapy has been a staple in my private practice. My ongoing teen group has been running for nearly 20 years and my new “Meditation for Moms” group has become a favorite.

I also run workshops and present lectures on a wide variety of topics, including most recently “The Teen Brain,” “Dan Seigel’s Parenting from the Inside Out” and “The Epidemic of Grandiosity and Entitlement in Adolescents Today.” I conduct discussion-based Parenting Seminars in conjunction with noted pediatrician, Dr. Buddy Zuckow, which address parents’ most frequent questions and concerns regarding children of all ages and teens.

My Parenting Program is a short-term, highly focused module designed to provide parents with a well thought out, compassionate and yet highly structured plan for managing the “temporary mental disorder” we generally call adolescence.