I offer short-term and long-term psychotherapy to individuals ranging in age from adolescence to the senior years.  Cognitive and personality testing are also available on a limited basis.

As with most mental health clinicians, a good deal of what I treat falls under the rubric of anxiety disorders, depression, other negative affects (shame, guilt, boredom), and relationship problems.  I am experienced in working with these difficulties, and I welcome opportunities to help resolve them.  In addition, there are some more specific areas in which I've accrued expertise, and to which I have devoted my ongoing attention and clinical focus.

Blocks to creativity / obstacles to workplace success
As a therapist, I'm interested in not only your struggles, but also your skills, talents, and competencies.  This includes your ability to be playful, creative, humorous, artistic, imaginative, and productive.  If you're feeling aimless, uninspired, stuck in a job that feels miserable, at odds with colleagues or higher-ups, or suddenly unable to conceive fresh ideas or finish projects, I can provide psychotherapy that addresses these problems.  Getting to the root of a creative block may free up new sources of inspiration for visual artists, writers, and musicians.  Non-artists, too, may suddenly find themselves more motivated to resolve work issues and problem-solve more creatively at their jobs.


Living with chronic medical conditions (either yours or a loved one's)
I first began treating chronically ill patients as an intern at Pennsylvania Hospital's cancer center.  I also evaluated candidates for bariatric surgery in the hospital's outpatient behavioral health clinic -- many of whom suffered from serious health problems secondary to morbid obesity.  I found that acute and chronic ailments were incredible catalysts for patients to address long-ignored issues, including ones that had nothing to do with their present illness.  Since 2007, I have worked with patients living with chronic health problems, including autoimmune disease, cancer, sickle-cell anemia, diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, chronic musculoskeletal pain, ongoing GI issues, vulvodynia, urological issues, and hypertension.  I participate during the year in a study group at the White Institute focusing on therapeutic work with patients with physical illness or disability.

To be clear, I do not treat any medical illness itself; that is the domain of physicians and other specialists.  My role, rather, is to assist patients with medical issues (whether newly-diagosed or long-standing and chronic) in achieving:
 

• coping mechanisms for dealing with the daily stressors of ongoing illness
• methods for stemming the emotional toll of illness or debility 
• effective self-advocacy with physicians and other specialists involved in their healthcare
• (in cases of a terminal diagnosis) meaningful ways to live while confronting death.  Goals may include providing a legacy for one's loved ones or community; fulfilling last wishes; repairing important relationships; maximizing quality of life; attaining peace. 
   

Even relatively minor or transient medical issues can potentially wreak havoc with a person's self-image, relationships, ability to work, and orientation to the future.  Please let me know your medical history regardless of your primary reason for seeking therapy.

My practice is also open to spouses, children, parents, and miscellaneous significant others who are caregivers to people living with chronic illness, or who have lost loved ones to an illness.  Caregiving for and outliving companions, spouses, and family members are tremendous responsibilities with their own emotional privileges and burdens.  

Personality-centered treatment
I really enjoy helping people maximize their personality styles, so they can cultivate their strengths and wisely manage their vulnerabilities.  In fact, understanding and working with your personality is key to enhancing your quality of life.  

Sometimes the unhappiness that brings someone into treatment is actually the result of a personality disorder.  This is basically clinical lingo for highly ineffective or maladaptive ways of relating to other people that are long-established, highly resistant to change.  People with personality disorders often report significant difficulties in making long-lasting, stable relationships with others.  Such relationships, when they happen, tend to be fraught with tension and tumult.  Unlike patients suffering from discrete episodes of depression, mania, or anxiety, people with personality disorders tend to have difficulty identifying "pre" or "post" periods to their suffering:  Their difficulties have (almost) always been there.  

Interestingly, all people -- even those who do not meet any criteria for a personality disorder -- have certain characterological traits that remain stable over time and through which their present-day challenges are filtered.  A reserved, risk-averse person, for example, will experience workplace stress much differently than a gregarious daredevil.  Neither style is necessarily better, nor is either intrinsically pathological.  As your therapist, I will help you understand your typical, characteristic ways of confronting successes, adversity, and other people.  Together we can explore what aspects of your personality are advantageous, and which hinder you from your goals.