about me
how I got hereI was 15 when I got my first job as a helping "professional." I was a C.I.T. (Counselor-In-Training) at Manhattan Beach Jewish Center Day Camp in Brooklyn, NY where I grew up. It would be another eight years before I decided to pursue a career in social work, but my love of helping others began when I was a child.
I moved to Portland in 2000 to pursue a Master in Social Work degree from Portland State University. I fell in love with the beauty and pace of the Pacific Northwest. Portland has been my home ever since. I have been working with adults and adolescents in schools and community settings since 1999. My professional experience includes counseling, case management, teaching, clinical supervision, program development, and consultation. For six years as Dean of Students at East West College of the Healing Arts, I supported massage therapy students as they made their way through school. I was also a faculty member and taught the Therapeutic Relationships course for seven years. I currently teach CE workshops for LMTs in ethics, communication, and boundaries workshops for licensed massage therapists as part of East West's continuing education program. Helping those who help others is a passion, and continues to be a focus in my practice. |
I am continually humbled and inspired by the resilience of the human spirit.
how I workMy approach is rooted in deep listening and an authentic and compassionate presence. I believe significant healing and transformation can take place when we feel safe, seen and accepted as we are. I view this work as a collaborative and sacred endeavor between me and my clients.
Additional principles that inform my work: The body is profoundly wise. By paying attention to it we can find clues about our wounds, fears, and deepest desires. Experiences may cause us to feel broken at times, but we are whole and not in need of fixing. Self-compassion and self-acceptance are essential conditions for healing and growth. If we were hurt in our relationship to others, we can (must) heal those wounds in relationship to others. We cannot always change our circumstances or feelings, but we can shift our relationship to them. The past informs the present. We can look to the past with compassion and curiosity to gain insight on our present experience. But...change can only happen in the present. Growth and healing are encouraged by creativity, humor, and play. Our work together will always be taken seriously. But sometimes we need to laugh in order to heal. We can only go so far with talking alone. By using a mindful, experiential, and body-centered approach we can more effectively bring about and sustain change as we create new neural pathways, replacing old limiting habits and patterns with new more expansive ones. |
education and licensure
Master of Social Work, Portland State University
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Oregon #4027)
I am fortunate to have taken several trainings at Mindful Experiential Therapy Approaches (M.E.T.A.), LLC:
M.E.T.A. Professional Skills Module 1: Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy
M.E.T.A. Professional Skills Module 2: The Re-Creation of the Self (R-CS) Model of Human Systems
M.E.T.A. Re-Creation of the Self Model of Human Systems advanced weekend
M.E.T.A. T.A. for Professional Skills Module 2: The Re-Creation of the Self Model of Human Systems
M.E.T.A. Professional Skills Module 5: Experiential Attachment Psychotherapy
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Oregon #4027)
I am fortunate to have taken several trainings at Mindful Experiential Therapy Approaches (M.E.T.A.), LLC:
M.E.T.A. Professional Skills Module 1: Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy
M.E.T.A. Professional Skills Module 2: The Re-Creation of the Self (R-CS) Model of Human Systems
M.E.T.A. Re-Creation of the Self Model of Human Systems advanced weekend
M.E.T.A. T.A. for Professional Skills Module 2: The Re-Creation of the Self Model of Human Systems
M.E.T.A. Professional Skills Module 5: Experiential Attachment Psychotherapy
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"Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy."
-Pema Chodron
