Entering Boston University in 1973 with a clear vision of what I wanted to do professionally, I graduated with a B.A in psychology. Continuing my education at Lesley College in 1978, I graduated with a master’s in counseling. Ten years later, I returned to school and obtained a master’s degree at Smith College School for Social Work.
I believe that a therapist’s education is an ever-continuing process. After studying from 2009-2010 in the Doctoral Program at Smith College School for Social Work, I decided to leave and and subsequently studied at Boston Psychoanalytic and Institute for 1.5 years. Much of my work is guided by the principles of Psychodynamic Theory but I am also very interested in holistic therapies and have studied at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts.
There are many ways to look at life and its challenges and people are complicated. The key to helping others is understanding their point of view. Too often, we try to fit a person into fixed theories about why their life is not working as well as it could.
My responsibility, and my aspiration is to listen to every individual, assisting each person to understand him/herself more fully. Some people will be focused on behavioral change while others will see their work as learning to feel better about themselves. A therapist is essentially a facilitator, helping people to gain insight, defining the direction they want to move in, and addressing what is getting in their way.