I am a psychotherapist trained in several modalities: Imago Relationship Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and Somatic Experiencing Touch.
My initial training was as a psychiatric nurse, having earned a M.S.N. from Boston University. While in Boston, I worked at McLean Psychiatric Hospital with both adolescents and adults.
Sometimes, when I worked weekends, I would bring my little dog, Rufus, because of his talent in calming the nervous systems of the more activated patients. He could be more effective than the human staff at times. Little did I know that this would become an interest of mine in years to come.
Additionally, I was an assistant professor at Simmons College teaching and supervising senior nursing students during their psychiatric rotation.
After living and working in Boston, I spent 3 years in Munich, Germany, where I became the head mental health provider for soldiers and their families in the armed forces. Many had been fighting in Vietnam and needed to deal with wartime PTSD.
Returning to the States, I settled in NYC. It was the mid 70s, a very juicy time to be alive. A lot of New Yorkers were interested in psychotherapy as a means to know themselves better. My training in Dr. Gene Gendlin's Focusing was my first experience in slowing down the clients' process so they could get in touch with a felt sense of what they were experiencing. Ann Weiser Cornell has continued and expanded upon his work. You can find examples on You Tube.
I later trained as an Imago Relationship Therapist with Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., and Patricia Love, Ed.D. Then, as an Imago Workshop Presenter, I gave workshops for couples across the country. These workshops were effective in enhancing the work that couples did in therapy.
This led to my curiosity about the emotions and sensations housed in the body. A year's training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy convinced me that it was a vital part of a person's healing. I had recently fallen on ice during the winter and broken a hip. My body held the trauma of this fall and I noticed myself feeling very anxious whenever I went outside during stormy winter days. Being helped to re-do the fall made a major difference in feeling okay again about being outside.
I am also a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), having trained in the body-based therapy developed by Dr. Peter Levine. It works with any trauma that disorganizes our nervous system. This may include early attachment issues, childhood abuse, or any overwhelming event, physical or emotional. These can result in trauma remaining locked in the body, leading to overwhelming crises if there is no relief.
This quite naturally led me to train with Kathy Kain, a somatic practitioner out of California. Now, as a certified SE Touch Practitioner, I have developed an even greater sensitivity to the body's communication. This informs my process on an entirely different level, allowing me to work more fluidly with a client's change process.
With clients who become adept at tracking their body sensations, I am able to do this work with them on Zoom.
My initial training was as a psychiatric nurse, having earned a M.S.N. from Boston University. While in Boston, I worked at McLean Psychiatric Hospital with both adolescents and adults.
Sometimes, when I worked weekends, I would bring my little dog, Rufus, because of his talent in calming the nervous systems of the more activated patients. He could be more effective than the human staff at times. Little did I know that this would become an interest of mine in years to come.
Additionally, I was an assistant professor at Simmons College teaching and supervising senior nursing students during their psychiatric rotation.
After living and working in Boston, I spent 3 years in Munich, Germany, where I became the head mental health provider for soldiers and their families in the armed forces. Many had been fighting in Vietnam and needed to deal with wartime PTSD.
Returning to the States, I settled in NYC. It was the mid 70s, a very juicy time to be alive. A lot of New Yorkers were interested in psychotherapy as a means to know themselves better. My training in Dr. Gene Gendlin's Focusing was my first experience in slowing down the clients' process so they could get in touch with a felt sense of what they were experiencing. Ann Weiser Cornell has continued and expanded upon his work. You can find examples on You Tube.
I later trained as an Imago Relationship Therapist with Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., and Patricia Love, Ed.D. Then, as an Imago Workshop Presenter, I gave workshops for couples across the country. These workshops were effective in enhancing the work that couples did in therapy.
This led to my curiosity about the emotions and sensations housed in the body. A year's training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy convinced me that it was a vital part of a person's healing. I had recently fallen on ice during the winter and broken a hip. My body held the trauma of this fall and I noticed myself feeling very anxious whenever I went outside during stormy winter days. Being helped to re-do the fall made a major difference in feeling okay again about being outside.
I am also a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), having trained in the body-based therapy developed by Dr. Peter Levine. It works with any trauma that disorganizes our nervous system. This may include early attachment issues, childhood abuse, or any overwhelming event, physical or emotional. These can result in trauma remaining locked in the body, leading to overwhelming crises if there is no relief.
This quite naturally led me to train with Kathy Kain, a somatic practitioner out of California. Now, as a certified SE Touch Practitioner, I have developed an even greater sensitivity to the body's communication. This informs my process on an entirely different level, allowing me to work more fluidly with a client's change process.
With clients who become adept at tracking their body sensations, I am able to do this work with them on Zoom.
