As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Santa Barbara, I provide psychotherapy and counseling services to children, adolescents, adults, families, and couples.

Areas of Focus

Areas of focus in my practice include:

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Stress management

  • Relationship problems

  • Conflict resolution

  • Communication skills

  • Child behavioral issues

  • Separation anxiety

  • Selective mutism

  • ADD/ADHD

  • Self-esteem

  • Life transitions

  • Life-changing events (accidents, divorce, loss, etc…)

  • Trauma

  • Abuse

Therapeutic Approach

As a therapist I am warm, accepting, and compassionate. I will strive to meet you where you are at in the moment with the situations you face and the emotions you feel, whether it be loneliness, pain, anger, happiness, sadness, fear, or aliveness. From this meeting place we have the possibility of developing a trusting relationship that allows you to begin to reveal more of who you are, what you experience, and what you want. I work to help support the development of greater self-awareness and a clear, healthy, internal sense of what is best for you. I am also pro-active in pointing out perceptions and behaviors that may be contributing to your own suffering and sabotaging your success. I will challenge you to try new things within the session as well as in your day-to-day life between appointments. I am most interested in being a catalyst for your transformation and development.

Please refer to the sections on Child and Adolescent therapy to learn about the specifics of therapy with these groups.

Theoretical Orientation

My theoretical orientation is primarily Humanistic-Experiential. I focus on present experience and anchor it in body sensation and awareness. The past is explored and considered for how it continues to impact the client in the present. Techniques and principles of Psychodynamic therapy are used to bring unconscious thoughts, feelings, behaviors, experiences and motivations into conscious awareness where they can be dealt with. I incorporate Cognitive Behavioral therapy to address distorted thought processes and behavior patterns, Family Systems therapy to address dysfunctional patterns in the family that perpetuate individuals’ symptoms, and Play Therapy for children as a means to support self-expression and resolution of internal conflicts.