I grew up outside of Philadelphia and moved to New York City shortly after graduating Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA.  I moved to New York City in the fall of 2002 as the city was still very much affected by the events of September 11th, 2001 and trying to rebuild. My first job in New York was working with people impacted by the trauma of September 11th, 2001, including those that experienced the loss of a loved one, a job/industry collapse, and those who were evacuated and had experienced tremendous post traumatic stress. It was a tough entry to the field, but I learned so much those first few years about being present with people, through deeply listening.

I continued working with individuals affected by trauma including domestic violence and abuse, and children exposed to abused families for several years while I worked on my Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from New York University.

After graduation, I shifted the focus of my work to children, teenagers and their families. In this position, I learned how to utilize play therapy techniques, creative arts therapy and cognitive behavioral approaches with children and teenagers to help them get in touch with their needs and communicate them to their caregivers.  I also worked with their parents to help them improve communication skills with their children, as well as within their co-parent . I also worked with parents as a team to identify better solutions for managing their children’s behaviors.

My work then shifted to an intensive outpatient day treatment program that focused on helping people diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illnesses to manage their symptoms and begin to learn how to live independently in the community.  In addition to maintaining a private practice, I continue to provide clinical supervision to staff working in an agency serving clients with intellectual or physical disabilities. I currently hold licenses in New York, New Jersey, Arizona and am awaiting the full enactment of the Social Work Compact Licensure to become further licensed in other states. I have been working as a therapist for over 17 years.

Outside of my clinical work, I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother to three children and avid runner. I am also a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200) and kept bees for about 10 years.