I am a psychodynamic therapist in Tiburon specializing in trauma informed therapy for individuals, couples and families. I bring empathy and curiosity to a practice inspired by relational psychoanalysis, an engaged approach that uses the therapeutic relationship to heal while seeking insight into the unconscious mind.
I work with artists, creatives, writers and thinkers to refine their voice, clarify their vision and give expression to their highest aspirations. My clients are often intuitive, empathic and gifted individuals. If you have ever been told you are too sensitive or overly dramatic, you will be at home here with me. Using a direct manner tempered by gentle loving kindness, I can show you how your sensitivities can become your greatest strengths.
Bringing to light both the conscious and the unconscious material that influences your choices is the first step along the path to healing heart, mind and spirit. My wish is to offer an expansive space for personal exploration that supports you to be your authentic self, find your purpose, give shape to your passion and create meaning in your life.
Emerging out of the tradition of classical psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapy is a process of change that is characterized the dynamic relationship between therapist and client. In contrast to the traditional Freudian analyst, the psychodynamic therapist is an actively engaged participant in the creative process of meaning making rather than a blank screen that passively reflects the client's projections. Rooted in the archaic sense of the word "psyche" that signifies one's soul, psychodynamic psychotherapy is a holistic approach to mental health that transcends a study of mind to include both soma and psyche, body and soul, to view the human being as a whole that is always already in relationship to others.
In our work together, we'll take a look at your underlying beliefs, perhaps even some you didn't know you had, and see how these are informing your actions, habits and responses. We'll explore your recurring dreams, early childhood memories and important relationships, both those that wounded you and those that inspired you, looking to see how your past is impacting your future. At each step in this process of self discovery, you will be the one to choose the direction of our inquiry and the depth of the waters in which we swim.
I am a licensed MFT with 10 years of experience working with couples to repair and improve their relationships. I use an emotion focused, heart centered approach to help cis gender, trans and queer couples rebuild trust, open to vulnerability, hold each other in empathy, deepen their connection, rekindle intimacy, and communicate with honesty. Whether you are seeking couples counseling for help recovering from infidelity or another breach of trust, confronting issues around gender identity or sexual intimacy, navigating deeper levels of commitment, co-parenting or managing major life transitions, I can help you find ways to speak to each other more skillfully, hold one another's uniqueness with compassion, and approach your relationship with renewed respect, curiosity and desire.
With their own tiny ecosystem, couples have the unique ability to swiftly co-regulate or foster rapid emotional disregulation with as little as a look, a touch, or a word. Couples therapy can help you harness the breathtaking power of your attachment to create the future you intend and desire with your partner. I hold no preconceptions about how the course of treatment should proceed in that regard. Some couples come to therapy to breakup, others to get back together and still others come to gain clarity about what it is they truly want. My role is simply to facilitate your resolution to move forward in a way that brings you security and happiness, however that may look in your specific situation.
When one member of a family is hurting, the whole family suffers. Conversely, the dysfunction of the whole can show up in the enactments of a single family member. As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I help families experiencing the impact of grief and loss, divorce, substance use, mental illness and trauma. I also support clients who are moving through the normal growing pains of individuation and differentiation. Put more simply, how do you, as a family, stay balanced in a healthy dynamic together while maintaining your independence and individuality as separate people. As a therapist, my role is to teach you the skills to gain insight into the root of the problem, communicate effectively, take responsibility for your part, act with compassion, and find strategies to move forward in a different way by identifying and breaking long standing patterns of behavior that have caused disruption in your family of origin. Sometimes this work begins individually and evolves to include siblings, a parent, or a partner incrementally and other times the whole family begins treatment together, whatever makes most sense for your unique situation.
It takes courage to take the first step. Text me at 415-857-5660 for a quick reply. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist offering online therapy in California & in person appointments to local San Francisco Bay Area residents. My office is close to the Tiburon Ferry with proximity to Mill Valley & Sausalito.