I believe that the brain has the capacity to be re-patterned and literally rewire itself if provided the tools to do so.
As a therapist I assist people in discovering the method that best empowers them with letting go of limiting beliefs and beginning to live in a way that allows them to meet their career, relationship, and spiritual goals.
Anxiety, fear, stress, poor body image, lack of confidence and low self-esteem manifest themselves physically as well as emotionally.
They leave us with physical symptoms like tension in our shoulders, neck and back, or issues with our digestive system. Unresolved this tension manifests
itself with symptoms of poor health and as “dis-ease” in the body.
My belief is that often working with the somatic physical symptoms we can release deeply painful emotional patterns and limiting beliefs.
My belief in the mind/body connection has lead me to use yoga and practices of meditation and breathing work in conjunction with psychotherapy to help people understand the connection and dynamics between their physical, emotional, and interpersonal health.
Living with hopelessness takes a heavy toll on our relationships with our partners, families, and friends. Understanding the body’s response to stress is a helpful step in combating anxiety and depression. Recognizing the body’s response to stress and learning how to control it is a key to breaking negative cycles of thinking and behaving.
I help clients gain control of negative thought cycles by teaching them how to identify and process emotions and equip clients with useful and practical stress management techniques.
Through our work together, you’ll learn how to apply these techniques to your life so that you can build your self-esteem and enhance the control you have over your life so you can feel more at home in your own skin.
I specialize in helping people increase their self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. Increased esteem will help eliminate negative thought cycles and will increase our positive coping skills. By using mindfulness to increase stress tolerance levels we can work on building communication skills to improve interpersonal relationships.
By working with a person-centered and holistic approach to learning and counseling we can tailor your experience to best suit your needs. I draw from the theoretical framework of cognitive-based, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and relational therapy.
This allows me to match the approach that I take to what the client’s therapeutic goals are and work in a collaborative and practical manner. My work is designed to support clients in their quest to heal and sustain a more healthy, balanced and peaceful life.
I use compassion and my sense of humor to connect with my clients and to highlight their strengths.
I have worked as a yoga and meditation teacher for over twelve years and I use my knowledge of Eastern practices in conjunction with various evidence based therapy models to empower clients so that they can regain control of their lives and begin living their path to peace.
My Experience and Credentials
I am a New York State–licensed clinical social worker. I have worked with a variety of people and children through my career and find that regardless of age, sexual-orientation, culture or religions all people possess a wealth of strength and experience that they have trouble accessing.
As a therapist I love helping people tap into their true nature and potential and begin to make lasting changes in their lives.
I work with people who have a variety of problems, weight issues, anxiety disorders, relationship issues, parenting conflicts and depression.
I received my Masters Degree from the University of Hawaii in 2006. I have always been interested in the
mind/body connection and focused on this during my graduate studies. During my graduate training, I worked in a residential facility for people with HIV and AIDS providing cognitive-behavioral therapy and solution focused therapy to the residents there.
I went on to work as a hospital social worker where I was able to see how disease and pain influence peoples emotional states. I currently work as the Clinical Director of a residential facility that houses formerly homeless people with many addictions and co-occurring disorders.
I previously worked as an adjunct professor for Columbia University and supervised
their graduate students in their field assignments. I did a post masters training course at the Ackerman Institute For the Family in York City where I began my training in couples and family counseling. I have completed the advanced trainings in Somatic Experiencing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).