For over 30 years I have been committed to helping individuals, couples, and groups improve and grow by serving their mental health and wellness needs. As a psychotherapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I offer individual and couples psychotherapy services for a wide range of issues, concerns, and struggles. I view my role as a counselor and psychotherapist as responsible for facilitating a therapeutic relationship rooted in efforts to promote a growth fostering experience. I aim to build connection, help clarify, co-pilot, and support. I view and approach psychotherapy as more of a holistic and conversational healing-oriented art form, rather than a medical science. It's truly a relational journey through which together we are likely to work on helping you identify, understand, and express important feelings; identify and challenge unhelpful thinking patterns; and identify and change unhelpful behaviors into new behaviors that support your personal goals.

My contributions toward our work are rooted more in who and how I am and relate with you, and less about anything I do or may suggest you do. I'm definitely more of an artist, less of a technician; more consultant, not a prescriber. I don't aim to cure, fix, and am even slightly uncomfortable with the term "treat". I am informed in how I am with clients from an eclectic range of teachers, sources, mentors, approaches, and experiences. My greatest mentors have been my clients across 30 years of counseling work, as well as my many teachers and clinical supervisors in undergraduate, graduate, and 26 years of post-graduate counseling experience. Primary theoretical influences in how and who I am in session include: Relational-Cultural and Gay Affirmative theories and therapies. Additionally, client centered, humanist, feminist, spiritual, cognitive, behavioral, harm-reduction, psychodynamic, and other interpersonal and relational theorists and "book" mentors inform how I work. 

I started my professional counseling career with Alternative Home Inc. in 1991 as a counselor working with individuals experiencing dual diagnoses (a major mental illness and substance abuse/dependency issues). This important work supported individuals in residential group homes at living and getting well in their home communities rather than being institutionalized. My career in mental health work as a counselor and psychotherapist continues across over three decades working with a broad range of populations experiencing a wide spectrum of mental health related concerns and struggles. The settings I have worked in as a mental health clinician, supervisor, counselor, and therapist have included psychiatric, general, and substance abuse hospitals, residential programs, college counseling centers, and as an outpatient therapist working in schools, homes and clinic offices. In these varied settings over the past 30 years, I have helped individuals in need of many different levels of care, including: inpatient, partial hospital programs, day and evening treatment, intensive outpatient programs, and mostly individual, couples, and group outpatient therapy. I graduated with a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology in May of 1995 from Lesley University. I have 26 years of post-Master's full-time clinical experience, as well as 23 years of post-Licensure experience. I was initially licensed as a Mental Health Counselor (LMHC, MA license #4132) in May of 1998, and my license has remained in good standing with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since. Additionally, I have post-graduate training in Rational Emotive Behavioral and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies from two practicums I completed at the world renowned Albert Ellis Institute in New York City, which resulted in Advanced Certification in REBT/CBT work.

I hope this "About Me" page helped you get to know a little about me and I look forward to learning more about you.  If you would like to contact me for an appointment, call me now at 508-944-8534.