About Me
I have been working with clients in individual therapy for about twenty years as a licensed clinical psychologist. After completing my undergraduate degree in psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, I completed my doctoral degree with an emphasis area in health psychology at Spalding University in 2006.
Over the years, I have worked with clients in various settings, including college counseling centers, community mental health, a clinic for anxiety disorders, a veterans hospital working with OEF and OIF veterans, and a sleep disorders clinic. I served as Assistant Director of Outreach & Prevention at The George Washington University Counseling Center.
Since 2014, I have been in full time private practice. I am a licensed clinical psychologist with licensure in DC and Virginia, and PsyPACT tele-health licensure in most states.
About Therapy
My approach to psychotherapy focuses on helping clients gain an awareness that they are the agents of change in their lives. Therapy can help one become more responsible, or increase response-ability, taking responsibility for the elements that drive behaviors that are not yet fully in awareness. By making the investment of time and money to address what you want to see in your life and creating a blueprint of the steps to get there.
Some influential thinkers in the field that inform my therapy are, Irvin Yalom, Harry Stack Sullivan, and Carl Rogers who taught the healing effects of unconditional positive regard.
In therapy, through looking at the events and the thoughts and feelings associated with how they have come to the current predicament, clients can come to the insight that they are the ones living in the lives they inhabit, and through this insight, they can implement the changes they want to see.
Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is one way of practicing awareness of how thoughts and feelings are connected to behaviors. Along with mindfulness meditation, learning cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective way to manage stress, decrease worry, and set attainable goals.
To help foster change, I try to keep an open posture, level of respect for both my clients and the problems they are facing. Creating a safe environment of mutual respect and trust are foundational elements of the therapeutic alliance if emotional and cognitive insights are to occur.
Therapy’'s uniqueness in a highly fast-paced and often seemingly bewildering world lies in this creation of a safe, stable, and supportive environment which fosters possibilities through the words spoken aloud.
In a setting, temporarily free from phones and disruptive technologies, clients can hear themselves think aloud, set intentions for self improvement, and make a plan! Without a roadmap for one’s self, it is easy to follow someone else’s plan for where you are to go.
I have enjoyed working with clients in the Washington DC area since I moved here in 2009. To find out if I am the right therapist for you, or to hear more about my practice,
If you would like to hear more about my practice or to book an appointment, please feel free to call me at (202) 567-1065.