Therapist Profile

My Approach to Helping

I believe that psychotherapy can help individuals to more confidently meet day-to-day struggles, cope with worry, sadness, and other difficult emotions, address mental illness, and to live a happier, more meaningful life. I have been trained in cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic approaches to treatment. Briefly, cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on identifying critical thoughts about yourself that can interfere with how you feel and behave. These thoughts are challenged and the development of more supportive thoughts is encouraged. The behavioral aspect of this treatment focuses on changing behaviors to improve well-being, for instance through improving relationships or learning to be assertive. Psychodyamic therapy tends to focus on the contribution of family relationships and childhood to patterns of behavior, the unconscious, and the therapeutic relationship.I am also very interested in positive psychology and mindfulness, or moment-to-moment awareness. I tailor my treatment to each individual and with empirically supported treatments and research in mind.I take great pleasure in being a therapist and value the opportunity I have to work with clients to become happier, shed unwanted pains, grieve losses, and live more mindfully in the present moment. I am committed to my own personal development and believe that the more I grow, the more I can help my clients to capitalize on their strengths and fulfill their potential.

More Info About My Practice

I received my M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. At UCLA, I conducted individual, couple, family, and group therapy for children, adolescents, and adults in the UCLA Psychology Clinic, which serves the diverse Los Angeles community. My primary areas of research in graduate school were preventing and treating depression among children and adolescents and school-based health promotion.I conducted my internship at the Palo Alto Veteran's Hospital, where I worked with trauma and substance abuse. Finally, I received postdoctoral training at the Stanford Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences with Dr. C. Barr Taylor. During this time, I conducted research on preventing eating disorders and depression in high school and college populations. I also provided individual therapy to the community through the Stanford Behavioral Medicine Clinic.