I am a trauma informed, client centered and research-oriented practitioner. I meet clients where they are in the life course and facilitate a safe, nurturing and expansive treatment space. I strongly believe in the stabilizing, healing and empowering force of a highly skilled psychotherapist in effectuating tangible and positive change. While I am an eclectic clinician, I employ a number of diverse approaches including somatic, internal family systems, Jungian, attachment, brief psychoanalytic and psychodynamic orientations. When indicated behavioral and ancillary skills-based psychotherapies such as the Unified Protocol, DBT, CBT (I), REBT, etc are utilized in limited application.
I was born in the Sonoran Desert borderlands and educated primarily in South Africa, New York City and California. I became a masters psychotherapist in 2017 and later trained as a doctoral psychologist re-specialization candidate and in public health at Columbia University in the City of New York. I undertook extensive field training in anthropology at Wits University, South Africa, which included more than three years of ethnographic study in Southern Africa and North America. While I have worn many hats in life, I enjoy facilitating high quality research oriented and impactful mental health treatment. I’ve seen the enormous positive and life changing impacts of therapy as a patient and provider.
I find joy channeling my inner child and playing outside with my beautiful three-year-old son Leif. I love stretching sore muscles after long runs, creating visual art, immersing in wilderness, cycling, deep conversation and present listening, exploring new languages and a very good book.
Professional Background
I am a psychotherapist, researcher, anthropologist, public health activist and multiform practitioner, currently affiliated with Columbia University in New York City and University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. Previously, I have been a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar at Yale University and an Amgen Scholar at Stanford University.
I have written a number of publications on a range of topics including ADD/ADHD: The Field Guide to ADHD, on relationships and couples therapy including the book entitled, You Can Be Happy Too: How to Stop Conflict, Feel Closer and Reclaim Happiness in Your Relationship and in the fields of artificial intelligence, global health, anthropology and public policy.
Education/Training/Certifications
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- EdD, Columbia University, Health & Behavior (Psychology)
- PhD, Wits University, South Africa, Anthropology
- MA, Columbia University, Counseling & Clinical Psychology
- MA, Columbia University, Public Health Education
- AB, Honors, UC Berkeley, Neuroscience, Human Development & Public Health
I hold expertise and training in therapies such as DBT (C), CBT (I), EFT, Psychodynamic, MDFT, Acceptance and Mindfulness (MBT), PCIT, play therapies, Triple P Parenting, REBT, narrative, narrative, somatic/trauma informed, arts and sensory and movement therapy, schema focused therapy, STEPPS and short term, humanistic, integrative and client focused therapies. I have received additional training from the UCLA Semal Center for Neuroscience, the Spirit Rock Insight Institute, the Ojai Foundation, Columbia University Spirituality Mind Body Institute, UC Davis Children’s Hospital, Stanford Children’s Hospital and Yale University School of Medicine, among others.
In addition to individual client work, I enjoy facilitating inclusive group therapy, micro-schools, workshops, seminars, intensive retreats and consulting on special topics such as boundaries in intimate relationships, psychedelic integration treatment, mindful intentionality in organizational leadership and coping effectively with critical life transitions.
Licensure
- Colorado Psychologist Candidate #PSYC.00015400
- Michigan Doctoral Psychologist Limited #6352000790
- Washington Psychologist #61469305
- Washington Counselor #60973714
- Australian Psychologist #261779