I am a licensed clinical social worker that specializes in working with men,
women and teens and their parents. I have been practicing for 20 years
and in private practice since 2000. My office is conveniently located in
downtown Chicago.
In addition to maintaining a
private practice, I joined the faculty at the Institute for Clinical Social
Work in 2015. I also joined the Board of the American Association of
Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social work in 2015.
A
native of Chicago, I lived for many years in the New York area. In 1987, I
graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Skidmore College
located in Saragota Springs, New York. After working in New York City in the
field of advertising for a 5 years, I entered graduate school at Columbia
University where I received my Master's of Science in Social Work in 1994.
I returned to Chicago after completing my Master's Degree. I worked for
several years at Scholarship and Guidance Association (now SGA Family
Services), one of Chicago's oldest agencies that provides mental health
services to adolescents and their families and young adults.I served as
a staff psychotherapist and on-site therapist in both Chicago Public High
Schools and parocial elemtary schools. After 4 years, I was appointed the
Clinical Coordinator overseeing School-Based, Loop-Based, and DCFS programs
and also provided supervision for clinical staff and Master's level
interns.
In 1996, I began my advanced clinical training in
psychoanalytic psychotherapy at Chicago's Institute for Clinical Social
Work. I completed my Ph.D. in 2013. My doctoral dissertation is
entitled The Vicissitudes of Hope in the Clinican, a qualitative study that explores therapists sense of hope: how it
evolves and changes over the course of their careers.
I live with my family in the Chicago area.
My Approach
My private practice is grounded in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is based on the idea that we are shaped by our early experience in ways that we are not aware of. I look at the underlying factors that have created your pain and lack of fulfillment and strive to help you understand yourself so you can change your behavior. Another focus of my work is relational psychotherapy. This approach explores who you are in your relationships and uses the therapeutic relationship as a way to understand how to relate to others in order to make your relationships more gratifying.
Throughout my training I have learned about alternative therapies including DBT, CBT, and mindfulness as effective tools to help regulate overwhelming feelings and behaviors that can get in the way of making sound choices.
In order to continue to learn and grow as a therapist I regularly invest in ongoing learning. I have attended conferences on such topics as Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Trauma, Attachment, and Brain Neurology. I also participate in two consultation groups for psychotherapists where we study clinical theory and support each others' clinical work. I am very passionate about what I do and consider professional development an essential part of helping me grow as a therapist and enrich my work with patients.
Licensure
Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 1994, state of Illinois
Professional Presentations
-
- Mothers as Clinicians: The Influence on Clinical Work (June, 2018)
- The Preservation of a Therapist's Sense of Hope in their Work Over Time (April, 2013)
- "Single Mother's By Choice" (February,2010)
- Adolescence and Boundaries (August, 2007)
- "Understanding and Managing the Effects of Alcoholism on Family Members (1997-1999)
- "Money and the Therapeutic Relationship"(October-December,1998).
Professional Affiliations
American Association
for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work
National Assoication
for Social Workers