My Approach to Helping

I have been privileged to work with wonderful children who struggle with difficult emotions and behaviors for over 11 years. I enjoy using a playful combination of child-directed play therapy, emotional intelligence-building, and mindfulness with my child clients, as well as parental guidance. I have thorough and unique training in work with children under the age of 10 and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

My approach to therapy is gentle and playful, allowing me to connect easily with clients of all ages. I also relish the chance to work with adult clients facing transitions, such as divorce, parenthood, and the transition to adulthood.

I graduated from Smith College with a bachelor of arts in psychology, and earned my doctorate from Antioch University New England. I have trained at the Brown University Center for the Study of Risk, working with children under the age of 5. I followed the early childhood tract in my internship through UMass, helping children and families through therapy and assessments, and served as a Head Start consultant at this time.

More Info About My Practice

My office is accessible and comfortable, just like my approach. My small, gentle, VERY patient dog, Dr. Beaker, helps clients feel comfortable and encourages kids to open up.

My View on the Purpose of Psychotherapy

I view my job as therapist to help Clients see greater possibility in their choices and open previously locked doors and pathways. My view is that psychotherapy is most effective when it is experiential, meaning that the work is done in the room between client and clinician. Clients bring to the therapy room what is present for them in their lives and it shows up in the room and in their relationship with the clinician. This may mean that we focus during the session on a specific event that has happened outside the office, and examine how it fits into the bigger picture of their lives. Or it may mean that we focus on the relational factors that present themselves within the therapeutic alliance. Or it may even mean that we work through life themes in an experiential way, through visualization for example. My work with children means that we have this "conversation" through play. Children express the content of their lives through play and we use play to move through healing.