In the early 1970s I trained in facilitating encounter and psychodrama groups. I then directed a drug rehabilitation program, a crisis hotline and worked as a recreational therapist at a psychiatric hospital. After receiving my B.S. and M.S.W. degrees from Columbia University in 1979, I continued my personal and professional journey with the following training:
- Over 35 years of experience in Meditation, Guided Visualization Techniques, Dreams and Inner Child Work
- 17 years of training in Body Centered Gestalt Therapy with Stuart Alpert, ACSW, D.Psy., founder and co-director of the Hartford Family Institute
- A three-year Jungian and five-year Freudian analyses during the 1980s
- Nine Years of Core Energetics and Pathwork Process training
- Graduate of the Satir Institute of the Southeast
- Certified Grief Counselor and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Facilitator
- Advanced training in Developmental Needs Meeting Strategies
- Two years of training in couples, family and group psychotherapy at the JBFCS Institute in New York City
- Volunteer work includes 4 years of facilitating an Aids psychotherapy group; leading grief support groups as well as groups for teenagers, drug and alcohol abusers, and victims of sexual abuse
- Couples training with Harville Hendrix and a Certification in leading workshops for Gottman’s “Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work”
- Many years of other trainings and supervision in working with couples
I have led workshops and training groups for therapists and other helping professionals over the past 30 years in addition to numerous public speaking engagements.
On a more personal note I was born and raised in New York City and the dysfunctionality in my family led me to some serious acting-out behavior as a teenager and young adult. When I had reached an intolerable level of misery I sought out psychological as well as spiritual answers to make sense of my life. Fortunately, I found both. After being in personal therapy for a number of years I decided I wanted to help other people more than any other career calling and so I went back to school to become a therapist and the rest is history.
I moved to the Triangle area in 1999 and have found the home that I always longed for. I am grateful to my many wonderful friends, acquaintances and of course clients whom I have met since moving here from NYC. While I travel less than in previous years I continue to go on spiritual retreats 2 to 3 times each year.
For the past 12 years my adorable mixed bulldog, Winston, has assisted me in conducting sessions with individuals and couples. Unfortunately, Winston passed on in 2024. I was very fortunate to have him as a companion.