You are enough. You always have been.
My Story
Originally from the Boston area, I received my B.A. in English from Brown University. I will never forget when an English professor commented that I seemed to be diagnosing fictional characters and I might want to consider diagnosing real people! It seemed like a good idea, so I started taking psychology courses and joined a research lab.
After college I conducted research on substance abuse treatment at Boston Medical Center, decided I was done with New England winters, and moved to Austin to start graduate school. I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. My research in graduate school broadly focused on genetic and environmental underpinnings of psychopathology during adolescence and young adulthood. Publications can be found on my google scholar profile page.
I have practiced therapy, assessment, supervision, and research in medical, residential, academic, and forensic settings. I completed my pre-doctoral internship at the Texas A&M University Student Counseling Service and my post-doctoral residency at the University of Miami Counseling Center, where I worked as a staff psychologist and suicide prevention coordinator for 4 years. The pandemic brought me back to Austin to join Deep Eddy Psychotherapy, where I worked for 3 years before starting my own private practice.
In my free time I love cheering for Boston sports teams, playing with my dogs, watching reruns, reading, and jogging on the greenbelt.
Be Present. Open Up. Do What Matters.
Areas of Expertise
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Mood and anxiety disorders
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Health care professionals
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Gender identity concerns
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Trauma, Acute Stress Disorder, PTSD
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Eating, weight, and body image concerns
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Life transitions
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Perfectionism
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Grief and loss
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Burnout
"You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf."
-Jon Kabat-Zinn
Practice Philosophy
I use a holistic, person-centered, integrative approach to help individuals face challenges, recognize their unique strengths, and meet their goals. I start by co-creating with each client a therapeutic relationship based on trust and safety. My approach is informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS), self-compassion, mindfulness, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Also humor.
I bring to each therapeutic encounter awareness of my various group memberships of both privilege and oppression and how these may interact and intersect with the complex identities of clients. I continue to educate myself about meeting the unique needs of racially and ethnically marginalized communities, particularly at the intersection of other marginalized identities such as gender, religion, sexuality, social class, and immigrant status. I am sensitive to negative experiences that clients may have had with medical or mental health treatment systems in the past, as well as cultural attitudes toward help-seeking, mental health, and mental illness, that may impact a client’s experience in therapy, and I want to be part of changing this.
