“So, when we go to a therapist, our first need 
may be to find somebody who can really listen.”

Welcome to my web site. I know that choosing a therapist can be a difficult process. You’ve most likely been debating whether or not you would get help from a therapist, and have reluctantly decided yes. While you’re here, I hope to help you with your decision by giving you an idea of what it would be like to work with me. On this page, I offer a perspective on what brings most people to start looking for a therapist; you can explore my other pages for more specific information about my work, including my specialties of working with new parents, couples, men, and people with trauma.

When we are in a state of health and satisfaction, we tend to experience ourselves as a whole. However, when problems occur, when we are sick, in pain, or are emotionally distressed, we become disconnected from ourselves and others. Our attention tends to focus exclusively on what is ailing us. We’ve all had this kind of experience physically when we’ve had a toothache or an upset stomach. Normally, no matter how hard you try, you can’t force yourself to only pay attention to a tooth or your stomach for a long period of time. But when you are sick and in pain, you can’t get your attention away from the source of your pain.

What happens physically to us can also happen emotionally. The problem with emotional pain is that it doesn’t always point directly to the source of the problem. It can be a challenge to understand what our distress is, how it’s being expressed, and what the path to healing may be. So, when we go to a therapist, our first need may be to find somebody who can really listen. We need to find somebody who can help us pay attention to what’s really hurting and to what needs healing, and we need that person to do it in a safe and respectful way.

I invite you to explore the other pages on my site to learn how I would guide you in this process of achieving your goals.