Although I have worked for the last couple of decades almost entirely with adults (and some older adolescents), early in my career I worked extensively with children  (four years old to eighteen years old) and families. I observed first hand the family dance, the layers of relational experience that shape the individual’s identity and the fit they find with the world.   Interwoven with these relational experiences are formative events that can be affirmative, challenging, or even traumatic. Uncovering the unconscious ways that those relationship and events have shaped our experience frees us to make more authentic choices in our lives

    

    My work has been strongly influenced by the rich person-centered view of Relational Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, which underscores the relational roots of psychological difficulties, and the the importance of relational experience in the healing of those difficulties.  

My work with couples follows the therapeutic approach of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) as developed and taught by Dr. Sue Johnson. This gentle and powerful approach honors the underlying reality that we are all "hardwired for connection", and is built on 70 years of Attachment Theory research.  Couples are guided into a process of resolving negative patterns and unlocking new experiences of intimacy.