I aim to create a safe space to collaboratively process trauma and explore your concerns. My approach is to partner with you in addressing issues and navigating challenges within yourself and in your relationships with others. Beyond processing your traumas, we will work towards connecting you to your own voice and self, clarifying your own goals and direction, and enhancing your well-being.
Before becoming a psychotherapist, I worked as a neuroscientist, and my therapy approaches are informed by my expertise in neuroscience. I studied how the brain changes with therapy in people who are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. My collaborative research was highlighted by the U.S. Veteran’s Affairs National Center for PTSD and U.S. Navy Medicine.
In addition, I have been a Co-Convenor for the Human Rights and Mental Health Working Group of the NGO Committee on Mental Health, a charitable organization in consultative status with the United Nations (UNESCO). We focused on the rights of the mentally ill within the criminal justice system. Related to this work, and as a part of Otsuka Digital Health, I engaged with mental health providers in South Florida to better understand the dynamics of mental healthcare and criminal justice involvement in Miami Dade County. The work of our team led to collaboration with the White House’s Data-Driven Justice Initiative in 2016.
I completed my MSW at Columbia University in New York, and my PhD in Psychology, an academic degree that focused on cognitive and clinical psychology and neuroscience research, at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. I also completed post-graduate study in the psychology of coercive control at the University of Salford in the UK. In addition, I have a Master of Science in Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Certifications & training also include:
Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy Integrated 2-Year Trauma Training Program*
EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Training (EMDR Center of the Rockies)
Dolores Mosquera / Master Class on Treating Dissociative Disorders with EMDR
Lana Epstein / 7-month Master Course on Attachment Wounding & Identity in Adult Survivors of Childhood Trauma (Integrating EMDR with Sensorimotor Therapy and Ego State/Parts Work)*
* Note: these trainings included internal family systems (IFS), sensorimotor (SP) therapy, and somatic experiencing (SE). While it is currently unclear, some methods may have foundations or associations with neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and Ericksonian hypnosis (for example, NLP was foundational to Ron Kurtz’s Hakomi Method, as indicated here: https://hakomiinstitute.com/about/ron-kurtz/). Therapies with an NLP or Ericksonian hypnosis background may contain coercive elements, and I take this very seriously. If any of these methods are to be used in our therapy sessions, an explicit, informed consent process is required, as well as ongoing open discussion and collaboration with you. I am committed to ensuring a non-coercive approach to therapy.
Current Memberships:
International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD)
EMDR International Association (EMDRIA)
New York City Association of Trauma Therapists (NYCATT)
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)
American Psychological Association (APA)
National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
For complex cult and coercive control recovery issues, I regularly consult with seasoned cult recovery psychotherapists and other experts in coercive control intervention.
I provide psychotherapy as a LMSW under clinical supervision by Michael Beck, LCSW at Refuge Psychotherapy, LCSW, PLLC in the West Village of New York City.