Thank you for your interest in my counseling and psychotherapy practice. If you decide to work with me, I will do my best to provide you with service that is responsive to your preferences and needs.

The purpose of this Professional Services Agreement is to describe my background and approach and to explain the services and policies of my practice. I provide you with this information in the hope it will promote the collaborative nature of our relationship should you decide to proceed. I encourage you to review this document carefully and to ask me any questions you may have.

I am a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and a Board-certified psychodramatist and psychodrama trainer (TEP). I hold two Master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University ─ one in Clinical Counseling and one in Applied Behavioral Science.

My training in Clinical Counseling has prepared me to work with individuals, couples and groups, assisting with mental health problems or other issues that may be impeding fulfillment of one’s personal goals.

In addition to my education as a mental health counselor, I have specialized training leading to national certification—as a practitioner and a trainer ─ by the American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy.

Psychodrama is a form of psychotherapy developed by Jacob L. Moreno, M.D., a Viennese psychiatrist who came to the United States in 1935. Psychodrama uses various forms of dramatic enactment to expand and deepen the purely verbal method of therapy.  Because psychodrama brings the body, mind, and emotions into action at once, it can sometimes be more powerful than traditional talk therapy alone.

Psychodramatic action can help a person achieve insight into a problem, express feelings, complete unfinished actions, and learn new and more satisfying ways of behaving.  Although it is typically practiced in groups, psychodrama can be used in individual and couples sessions.

I am also trained and certified in a form of couple/marital psychotherapy called Imago Relationship Therapy. Imago maintains that we all have some unmet needs from childhood that we carry into our adult relationships. Imago helps us resolve those early psychological issues within the context of a safe and supportive relationship. In so doing, Imago promotes new levels of caring and closeness within the relationship of concern.

My practice is limited to adults.  Although I can assist with a variety of concerns, I have special interest and expertise working with people with a history of trauma such as physical, sexual or emotional abuse. I also work with individuals experiencing problems with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and life transition issues such as health problems, divorce and job loss.  I offer individual psychotherapy that may or may not include psychodrama and other experiential methods, depending on the preferences and needs of each person.

I offer group psychotherapy for adults, using a psychodramatic approach. The purpose of this group therapy is to help members lead more satisfying lives by experiencing positive connections with self and others and by learning new roles and more skillful behaviors. Through a variety of verbal and experiential methods, group members are helped to enhance personal strengths and resources, resolve unfinished emotional issues, achieve insight into patterns that do not serve their goals, and learn more satisfying roles.

In addition, I offer counseling and psychotherapy for couples that is designed to identify and build on the strengths of the relationship and address specific problem areas. I use Imago Relationship Therapy to help partners restore trust after a rupture, learn ways to handle conflict, and bring renewed energy into a lackluster relationship. Through Imago, I help partners learn new, more skillful ways of relating so they can experience greater intimacy, connection and fulfillment in their relationship.

My clinical orientation is integrative.  Based on each individual’s unique situation, I draw on various theories and techniques in a systematic way to develop a coherent approach that will best suit the person’s specific situation.

All of my work is informed by my study of transpersonal psychology, my practice of hatha yoga and diverse spiritual practices, and my personal intention to live in the moment with an attitude of mindfulness and loving kindness. My work with clients is based on a holistic, strengths-based approach. I emphasize conscious awareness, thoughtful planning, and mindful action as ways to bring about the change you desire.

I encourage all clients to cultivate a variety of strategies for compassionate self-care, including physical, mental, emotional, and, as compatible with their particular belief system, spiritual.

In psychotherapy I strive to be sensitive to multicultural and diversity issues, such as an individual’s gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, cultural heritage and values.  Regardless of whether or not we share the same worldview and belief system, I want to understand how my clients see the world. Clients’ spiritual, religious and/or philosophical beliefs may or may not be an important topic for exploration in our work. I strongly encourage clients to use their religious, spiritual or philosophical beliefs, whatever they may be, as a source of strength. I am also open to any discussion of the ways my clients believe that these values and beliefs may have created problems in their lives.