About

Who I am and how I got here….

After almost 20 years as a corporate lawyer and “having it all,” I learned the hard way that I really didn’t. My journey to a better understanding of myself and a much better way of being and of relating with the people that I love inspires me every day. That background, together with my training, life experiences and warm humor, allows me to help you on your own journey of understanding and finding a better way of being and doing.

As a corporate attorney at an LA-based international law firm, I know well the challenges of a high demand, 24/7 work environment. That high-stress experience, together with significant personal challenges and losses, led me to seek out individual psychotherapy for the first time in my life: all those many balls that I was juggling were starting to drop, and I didn’t know what to do. I was at a low point in my life…and having a wise and supportive space in which to begin to sort out was going on, what was going wrong, allowed me to come to a much better place in my life, in my relationships and in myself than I had ever been before. The joy was back!

I left the practice of law, returned to school for my Masters in Psychology, and have been working with a wide variety of individuals, couples, families and groups since 2011.

I enjoy my work with individual clients and being able to explore and evaluate long-held beliefs that may no longer be working, or to see unexpected—and even expected—life transitions in a new light, all to find a better way of being, both with oneself and with others. 

I am particularly honored by and drawn to the power of working with couples: when we are connected openly and warmly with our partners, mutually knowing and known by them, having each other’s back, life is both more wonderful and just that much easier.

Because of my varied life experiences, I truly feel that I have “been there, done that” with respect to a wide range of major life transitions and relationship challenges. If I can use what I’ve learned along the way to make your own journey a smoother, better experience for you and your relationships, I am delighted to do so.

Certifications & Experiences

Advanced Certified Imago Relationship Therapist

Workshop Presenter

• Getting the Love You Want® Couples Workshop

• Keeping the Love You Find® Individuals Workshop

Levels 1 & 2 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy

Certified Facilitator in Prepare/Enrich Relationship Assessment & Analysis

Discernment Counseling (certification in process)

Level 1 Training in the Trauma Resiliency Model

AAMFT-CA Certified LBGT-Affirmative Psychotherapy Provider

I am also a member of the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (AAMFT), the California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (CAMFT), and the San Fernando Valley Chapter of CAMFT.

Education 

M.A., Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage & Family Therapy | Phillips Graduate Institute, Chatsworth, California

J.D., University of California, Berkeley | Senior Executive Editor, California Law Review

B.A., Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz | Honors in the Major; College Honors

Other Activities

President, THE MUSES of the California Science Center Foundation

Treasurer, Imago Relationships North America