Psychotherapist and Psychoanalyst
for adults, adolescents and children
Specialties:
Depression and anxiety
Trauma / PTSD / Complex PTSD
Grief
Recovery work around past abuse, sexual assault or other adverse life experiences
Infertility, pregnancy and reproductive losses, traumatic birth experiences
Postpartum depression, anxiety and OCD
Services offered:
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychoanalysis
EMDR
Play Therapy
Parent Guidance
I welcome LGBTQ+ and gender diverse clients into my practice.
My approach
My approach is relational, trauma-informed and attuned to the diversity of human experience.
Psychodynamic as well as psychoanalytic treatment is highly specified to you as an individual and rooted in our therapeutic relationship. Finding where you might be stuck in certain feelings or relational patterns can be a process of understanding how early experiences have shaped you emotionally as well as how you bring those experiences, often unconsciously, into the present.
Treatment can be long or short, depending on your needs and preferences.
I enjoy working closely with people, 2-4 times per week, if desired, but also offer weekly or bimonthly sessions. Contemporary psychoanalysis has emerged from classical Freudian psychoanalysis yet is dramatically different in current practice. The therapist is not a “blank slate” and is more interactive. Contemporary psychoanalysis works relationally to deepen self-knowledge, illuminate unconscious material, reduce suffering, strengthen self-worth, and create lasting emotional resilience. As needed, I use CBT/ DBT and mindfulness-based strategies to promote self-care and emotional regulation. My work with children is informed by child development and attachment theories as well as principles of play therapy. I offer parent guidance from a Positive Discipline as well as Respectful Parenting perspective.
I am a licensed psychotherapist in the state of Oregon.
Education and Bio
I am originally from New York City and have been living in Portland, OR for many years. I completed my Masters in Social work degree (MSW) at Smith College School for Social Work in Northampton, MA. Before opening a private practice, I worked in agency settings including early intervention, intensive family services, residential treatment for children, homeless youth services, drug and alcohol treatment, and outpatient mental health.
I received a doctoral degree in psychoanalysis (Psy.D) from the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, CA. My masters thesis focused on youth in foster care and the challenging experience of “aging out” and transitioning to independent life My psychoanalytic doctoral dissertation explored the experience of grief during pregnancy.
Telehealth Sessions Available
During the COVID-19 pandemic all sessions will be held over the phone or by video
Fees and Billing
My fee for a 50 minute session ranges from $150-$225. A sliding scale can be discussed depending upon circumstances. My billing team, Sunrise Medical Billing, can be reached at 360-448-7260 for questions regarding insurance.