Education & Training
I received my Master’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University where I graduated with honors in Clinical Social Work. Throughout my program I interned as a high school social worker and in a community mental health agency. I have received training for Child Parent Psychotherapy and Circle of Security. I recently completed education with the California Institute of Integral Sciences Psychedelic Therapies and Research program to further understand and develop a sense of connection and healing between the mind, body, soul, and spirit. I’m currently enrolled in the Internal Family Systems Level 1 training program. I attend seminars and training throughout the year as a requirement to maintain my clinical license, to advance my understanding in the field, and to be sure I continue to grow as a culturally competent clinician.
My experience and theoretical lens
To obtain my clinical licensure, I have spent time working and training in the infant mental health field focusing on the importance of attachment between a caregiver and their child, while resolving family conflicts that impact parenting and overall functioning. I have worked at an intensive in-home program tailored towards adolescents and teenagers in conjunction with their families to prevent or recover from psychiatric hospitalization. I have spent time working with mother’s on the maternity floor of a hospital to assess and connect to services during the delicate postpartum period. I have worked in a community mental health setting sitting with clients with a variety of needs, specifically young adults and adults. I am a social work consultant for a local daycare/preschool providing any consultation for families and for agency policies and practices. Working in these different fields has helped me further my understanding of the lifespan and human condition.
I am an Integrative psychotherapist pulling from different orientations to explore a client’s life span experience. I am first and foremost a relational therapist and utilize psychodynamic theory, transpersonal theory, person-centered, trauma focused, and mindfulness based. I am informed by my mentors and by the theoretical work of Bessel Van Der Kolk, Janina Fisher, Esther Perel, Carl Rogers, Irvin Yalom, and Gabor Mate.
My cultural disclosures and personal values
I discover myself in the world as a privileged member of a white dominant world, consistently challenging this norm. This privilege has afforded me access to higher and continued education. I am a Connecticut native with European heritage. I feel that the more I get to know my own roots, heritage, and beliefs, I am able to hold other people’s experiences. As an ally to marginalized communities, I am a strong proponent of inclusivity and access to therapy and other mental health services.
I want to acknowledge the original habitants of the land I live on; the lands of the Hammonnasstes, Quinnipiac, and Wappinger First Nations. This land and the cycle of seasons we experience, remind me of the intimate connection between us and the rhythms of nature.
I value compassion, authenticity, empathy, kindness, and humor. I appreciate being in nature, playing outside, and enjoying a cup of coffee or tea with a great book. I honor the vulnerability my clients express and the real and raw emotion that we feel together.