What drew me to this work
I was drawn to work as a therapist because it involves a lot of direct personal contact and because grappling with the human mind can be fascinating, complex and rewarding. Before I became a therapist, I worked for a couple of decades in the tech industry.
How I’m different from other therapists
Many of us who went into demanding technical work did so in part because it was objective and it was reassuring to know when we were getting it objectively right. It was an adaptive atttempt to engage the world through our cognitive abilities, sometimes in an attempt to control the messy emotional parts. When you try approach life by sidelining your emotions, over time you can feel increasingly empty and cut off from the world.
I work best with people who want to expand their emotional range. People who are curious to know themselves more deeply. People who need to more thoughtful and caring with themselves and in their relationships with others.
Education
I have a Masters Degree in Counseling from the Wright Institute in Berkeley. My focus has been on helping people to improve their relationships and to heal from the damaging consequences of developmental trauma.
As an undergraduate I obtained a BS in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
A Focus on Relationships
I specialize in and continue to train in relational psychotherapy, emotionally-focused couples therapy and more. The common ground is a focus on relationships, aimed at helping people to live richer lives with closer bonds and higher levels of mental integration. I work to help people to develop new stories and leave the old, dysfunctional stories behind.
International Background
Before coming to the Bay Area, I lived in Australia and the Midwest, the UK. I have traveled extensively around Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. I have a special interest in working with people from diverse racial, religious, cultural and gender identity backgrounds.