Licensure and Education:

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in New York

I have over ten years of experience providing therapy in various settings, including working with couples in private practice, children and families involved in foster care and adoption, and students in college counseling centers, most recently at the Syracuse University Counseling Center.

I am a systems trained therapist, which means that I view people and problems within the context of larger relational and cultural systems. In addition to my training in marriage and family therapy, I have received advanced training in two empirically validated forms of treatment: Emotionally Focused Therapy, which helps couples create a more secure bond and change negative interactional cycles; and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which uses mindfulness to help people learn to better regulate their emotions, tolerate distress, and work toward greater acceptance in their lives.

I am also committed, both personally and professionally, to social justice and seek to create a space where those with marginalized identities feel validated, safe, and supported.

I am a Clinical Fellow in the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. I offer clinical supervision to both students and post-graduate therapists working towards licensure.

I invite you to call me or email me for an initial consultation.

Couples Therapy

-Improve communication and ability to connect with partner
-Reduce amount of conflict in relationship and change negative patterns of interaction
-Address problem areas in relationship (i.e. sexual relationship, division of labor, finances, goals and plans for the future)
-Cope with infidelity
-Get support for struggles related to major life transitions
-Attend to relationship distress connected to one person’s struggle with depression, anxiety, addiction, or some other mental health concern

Family Therapy

-Improve communication and connection between family members
-Understand and reduce conflict
-Find healthier ways to respond to difficult emotions and behaviors
-Help family members adjust or cope with a major change or life event

Individual Therapy

-Work through feelings of sadness, depression, and loneliness
-Find better ways to manage stress and anxiety
-Process traumatic events and work towards healing
-Address issues related to sexuality, sexual orientation, or gender identity
-Improve body image and treat disordered eating
-Deal with life transitions (i.e. moving, divorce or separation, work changes, becoming a parent, children leaving the home)
-Process feelings of grief and loss
-Understand and cope with feelings related to infertility, pregnancy, or postpartum

Clinical Supervision

I am an AAMFT Approved Supervisor and provide clinical supervision for both students and post-graduate therapists working toward licensure.

I invite you to call me or email me for an initial consultation.

Consultation

I offer a free phone consultation so that you can ask questions and get a sense of my approach to therapy. It is also an opportunity for me to get some basic information about you and what you’re looking for to help decide whether or not my areas of expertise align with your specific needs.

Sessions

A typical session is approximately 50 minutes. It is up to you how often we meet. However, I have found that it is helpful to meet weekly initially in order to begin making progress on your goals; it is common to space out sessions later in the process. Some find that just a few sessions are helpful to meet their goals, while others decide that regular, ongoing sessions are needed.

Insurance

I am currently credentialed with the following insurance companies:
POMCO and Lifetime Benefit Solutions. If you have coverage with one of these companies, please let me know during the initial phone consultation so that I can give you information about steps to verify benefits with my billing service.

For out of network reimbursement: Payment is due at the time of service. I provide all the necessary paperwork for my clients to be reimbursed by their insurance provider. Most of my clients are able to receive some form of reimbursement from their insurance company. Please call your insurance provider to determine your coverage for out of network psychotherapy.

Payment

If you will not be using insurance benefits, we can discuss fees during the initial phone consultation. Cash, credit card or check accepted for payment at the time of service.

Cancellation Policy

If you miss a session or cancel an appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice, you will be charged a fee of $50.00.

How can therapy be helpful?

Working with a therapist in a safe, supportive space can help grow and heal relationships; improve ability to understand, express, and manage emotions; develop better ways to cope with difficult or painful situations; and identify parts of life you can control or try to change and parts that you may need to work toward accepting.

Therapy can be beneficial whether you are seeking treatment for a chronic mental health issue, or you are simply looking for someone to help you work through a particularly difficult situation or time in your life.

It is important to remember that it usually takes time and effort to see improvement and change. Therapy is most effective when clients have an open mind and actively participate in the process.

What is a Marriage and Family Therapist? Do I have to bring my partner or family member to sessions with me?

Marriage and Family Therapy is a distinct mental health discipline that is based upon systems theory and views people not just as individuals, but as individuals in relation to others and impacted by their relationships, families, and larger cultural systems. The Association of Marriage and Family Therapy describes that “Marriage and Family Therapists broaden the traditional emphasis on the individual to attend to the nature and role of individuals in primary relationship networks such as marriage and the family. MFTs take a holistic perspective to health care; they are concerned with the overall, long-term well-being of individuals and their families.”

I work both individually and relationally with clients. When the focus of therapy is connected to a specific relationships (i.e. with your partner or family member), it may be important to engage in the therapeutic process with that person(s) in order to most effectively address issues and strengthen this relationship. However, this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons, but individual therapy can still be helpful. Other clients may be seeking therapy to address issues not connected directly to a specific relationship and will attend sessions individually. Even in these situations, working with an MFT is useful for understanding and addressing how your relationships contribute to and are impacted by your individual concerns (i.e. depression or anxiety).

Should I engage in therapy or take medication? Do you prescribe medication?

Research is clear that medication alone is not a long term solution for many mental health concerns. Instead of just treating the symptom(s), psychotherapy helps us understand why we are distressed and begin moving towards healthier behaviors, emotions, attitudes, and relationships. Medication, in addition to psychotherapy, can sometimes be the right course of treatment for certain issues. I am not a medical practitioner, but can provide referrals for psychiatric care if you would like to explore medication in addition to therapy.

Are my sessions confidential?

In general, the law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and psychotherapist. No information is disclosed without prior written permission from the client. However, there are some exceptions required by law to this rule. Exceptions include: suspected child abuse, dependent adult or elder abuse; imminent threat of serious bodily harm to a specific person; and imminent risk to self and/or imminent threat of suicide.