A communications major and division 1 student athlete at the University of California, Berkeley, I spent my early professional career in investment banking and wealth management before finding my true calling as a psychotherapist. After obtaining my master’s degree in counseling psychology in Los Angeles, I chose to focus on three specific areas to further my professional development and expertise.

The first was with eating disorders. I worked under Carolyn Costin and Anna Kowalski at Monte Nido residential treatment center in Malibu, California. The predominant approach to treatment was cognitive behavioral therapy, though the program masterfully blended many philosophies and skills to create a holistic approach to healing both the body and the mind.

My next area of interest and focus has been on mindfulness. My interest in this discipline began at Monte Nido where we recognized the significance of being very aware of and in tune with one's self in the moment, in order to care for one's self most effectively. In search of further knowledge, I found Headspace and had the opportunity to work closely with Andy Puddicombe. Andy is a former monk, and one of the founders of Headspace. I remained at Headspace for three years, meditating daily and working closely with Andy and the leadership team. I gained comprehensive knowledge of Andy's valuable teachings on meditation as an approach to developing mindfulness, and also had the unique opportunity to experience the challenge of translating ancient teachings for the modern world.

My final focus has been working with couples under Dr. Sue Johnson's emotionally focused therapeutic approach. With couples I have been able to use my previous training to help clients feel and understand complex emotions more skillfully. Empathetic communication is then taught and practiced. These newly developed skills enrich the understanding between people, thus creating a bonding experience that strengthens their emotional connection and replaces repetitive cycles of misunderstanding and frustration with genuine understanding, alignment and unity.

This experience has led me to pursue supporting young adults and couples by offering them the opportunity to create insightful meaning from emotions and develop a healthy inner voice to guide them through a pressure filled world. I am humbled by every opportunity I am given to listen, to learn, to support and to share with each of my clients, and I look forward to a lifetime of work in service to those asking for help.