Early in my career, I developed a passion for working with individuals facing chronic and life-limiting illnesses. Eventually, a desire to provide more client-focused care led me away from medical social work and into private practice. My approach is humanistic and resilience-based. I hold certification in grief counseling and Dialectical Behavior Therapy; and have completed many hours of trauma training. I look forward to partnering with you to compassionately process challenging life transitions all while also helping you build skills to keep moving forward toward the change you seek.
MSW - Social Work, Touro College
It is hard to fully articulate… but there is something incredibly humbling and powerful in just being able to sit and be with someone in those moments of pain, sadness, anger - whatever the big emotions are that must be witnessed and sometimes held for a bit.
I do my best to start every morning by reading for at least a half-hour. After that I do yoga and (if it is a really good day) I can even fit in some meditation before jumping into my sessions for the day.
For Pete's Sake Cancer Respite Foundation - this is an amazing group that provides a vacation - all inclusive at a resort in the Pocono Mountain region of PA - for families impacted by a cancer diagnosis. As an oncology social worker, one of my favorite things to do was nominate a patient for these little getaways. It truly was a way to give them some moments of joy within a really tough situation.
So many pets! Presently we have two cats (Seamus and Murphy - brothers) and a lovely red-nose pittie named Ronan.
I have so many memories and stories it is hard to choose just one. Ronan and I completed a class to be a therapy dog team (volunteer at hospitals, schools, etc). However - we failed the exam as one of the requirements was to walk peacefully past another dog. The dog in the test - chihuahua! What? Poor Ronan could not keep it together. He was so intrigued trying to figure out what the heck that little creature was all about. After multiple tries, we were given the sad news that we failed. Such a shame because Ronan is loved by everyone. He is known to often make an appearance during my remote sessions to the delight of all my clients!
If you or someone you know is experiencing an emergency or crisis and needs immediate help, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Here are some additional crisis resources.