Becoming a clinical psychologist was not anything I would have predicted or imagined when I was young. I took a kind of “roundabout” way to get here, and looking back it all makes perfect sense — though I certainly couldn’t see it at the time. I know I’m not alone in that. Many people look back on the story of their lives and wonder, “how did I get here?”
Early on, I had a strong interest in evolutionary biology and animal behavior. After my undergraduate studies, I had a brief stint working in a neuroscience lab before earning my master’s degree at Connecticut College. I spent the next several years as a researcher at Yale University’s Department of Psychiatry, where I investigated the genetics of cocaine addiction, individual experience of psychosis, alcohol abuse, and depression.
As time went on and life put me through the wringer — as it tends to do — it became clear that I needed to leave research and become a therapist. I know now that my own personal struggles and desire to heal and make sense of my life led me to the study of psychology. I needed to understand why people are the way they are. That pursuit brought me into contact with many people and experiences that helped me find direction, purpose, and ultimately the work of helping others.
I received my doctorate in clinical psychology from Antioch University New England. Over the years I’ve worked in community mental health, university settings, and private practice with a wide range of people and concerns. For over a decade, I served as Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Hartford and was an individual and couples therapist at West Hartford Holistic Counseling, one of the top mental health practices in the Hartford area. In 2025, I made the decision to open my own practice — smaller, more intentional, exactly the kind of place I wanted to work.
My approach to therapy is integrative, meaning I take a flexible and personalized approach rather than adhering rigidly to one method or technique. I draw from psychodynamic, existential, and humanistic models, as well as Jungian and archetypal psychology, Eastern thought including Buddhism, twelve-step and other recovery frameworks, and anything else that offers genuine insight into the human condition. I highly value the arts and creative endeavors — visual art and music are a particularly important part of my own life, and that sensibility informs how I listen and what I notice.
I feel genuinely fortunate to do this work — to be able to put my training and life experiences to use by joining with people to help ease suffering. Each day, my clients remind me to stay curious, to check my own reactions and assumptions, and to remain open to uncertainty and not knowing. I am continually surprised by the unexpected paths to healing that appear when people commit to the therapeutic process. Sharing in that process brings me real fulfillment.
