I specialize in therapy and counseling for women 18 and older with a wide range of concerns, including but not limited to:
relationship issues, anxiety and depression, body image issues, traumatic experiences, low self-esteem, trouble achieving a work-life balance.
In order to take emotional risks and to learn about oneself in the process, one first needs to feel safe.
My first principle is to help clients feel safe and comfortable as we embark on the therapy process together. I view the relationship between therapist and client as paramount. Trust, caring, and collaboration are necessary therapeutic ingredients that need to be present in order to lay the groundwork for lasting change.
I practice primarily from a psychodynamic perspective but I also have extensive training in both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) therapies and will integrate these approaches into our work when appropriate.
I do not provide one-size fits all treatment; my services are always tailored to meet your unique needs.
In addition to the more generalized therapy services that I offer for women, I also provide subspecialty services.
My pre-pregnancy services are designed to help women who fall into one or more of the following categories:
Experiencing fertility related challenges after you have made the decision to have a child can feel frustrating, maddening, and deeply painful. Women who have previously achieved professional and/or personal success can have a particularly hard time managing the emotions around fertility-related challenges as they are used to achieving success in all the endeavors to which they have applied themselves in the past. For some, this might be the first time that they have experienced such a profound lack of control, which can give rise to complicated feelings that women may hold in relation to their bodies. They may feel that their bodies have betrayed them. The stress that accompanies fertility challenges often creates friction and resentment in even the strongest of marriages and relationships. Paradoxically, you might find that you are feeling the most isolated during the time that you require the most support.
This is where fertility therapy can help. Seeking treatment at this crucial and difficult juncture in your life can provide a safe space for you to process all the myriad feelings around trying to get or stay pregnant, and can help you to formulate a path forward, whether that involves the use of ARTs, choosing adoption, or opting to remain child-free. Regardless of which path you end up deciding upon, it is useful to have a space to unpack all of the different thoughts and feelings related to each one of these distinct paths so that you can feel confident in your decisions as you forge ahead.
I offer both short-term and long-term individual psychotherapy to new mothers and soon-to-be mothers to help women as they transition to motherhood.
When a baby is born, a mother is also born. New mothers and mothers-to-be need and deserve an exceptional level of support. Therapy during pregnancy or after the birth of your child can provide you with a private, safe space in which to talk about all of the complicated feelings that often accompany the birth of a child. New mothers often experience all sorts of feelings ranging from elation to anxiety to guilt and resentment, and nearly everyone feels overwhelmed. Having a place for yourself where you can process the changes that are happening to your body, your mind, and your lived experience can be crucial as you navigate early motherhood. Taking care of yourself emotionally can help ensure that you can be present in the ways that you want to be for your baby.
Mothering is no easy task, and it is true that some children are just more challenging than others. There is no need to go it alone. The parenting support services I offer are aimed to help mothers feel more calm, effective, and in control in relation to their children. I draw on my knowledge of child development and parenting strategies to help mothers contend with the different challenges that can accompany each stage of child development, whether that involves toddler tantrums, battles over screen time or social media usage, or trouble in the home or at school.
I have a special interest in helping mothers who have given birth to “high needs” children or children with special needs, including those who have been diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, selective mutism, Tourette’s, Down’s syndrome, or other genetic disorders. Often these mothers feel as though they have suddenly woken up in a foreign country that they did not intend to travel to, where the native language and culture feels completely unknown. In these cases, I try to be a tour guide of sorts as I help acclimate these mothers to the life that has often been suddenly thrust upon them. I also have experience petitioning school districts for support services and can help provide guidance when working with a school to try to establish a 504 or an IEP for a child.
It’s no secret that aging is hard, especially for women.
Aside from the deep creases and gray hairs that show up like unwanted visitors, women in their 40’s and 50’s will inevitably find themselves in the throes of a major physical and mental overhaul, also known as perimenopause. I find that women are often unprepared for the major hormonal and biological shifts that are associated with peri-menopause. Women in perimenopause can experience an increase in anxiety or depression and can also at times suffer from night sweats, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, brain fog, not to mention a host of other unpleasant symptoms. Too often, women are left in the dark about how to manage these symptoms. Making matters worse, women might discover that the onset of their peri-menopausal symptoms might also be coinciding with their child entering puberty or needing to care for an ailing parent. These are potentially incendiary conditions to say the least.
I always take women’s concerns around peri-menopause and menopause seriously as I help women develop ways to cope with the newfound physical and mental changes that they might be experiencing. I help women take an inventory of what they would like this next chapter of their lives to look like and try to help women come up with a roadmap to achieve that vision. It is my hope that, through treatment, women can embark on this next phase in their lives feeling more grounded and joyful.
