Often clients are unhappy because their relationships are not satisfying or their career is stalled or they just don't feel as good as they’d like to. They want to identify ways to let go of old habits and ways of thinking that have been holding them back from successful relationships and rewarding work.

I take clients very seriously when they tell me they wish to change. I know that although they may be conflicted, clients seek therapy out of a deep commitment to doing things differently in order to make their lives more fulfilling.

When people come to me for therapy, together we identify exactly what they want to make different. We begin to explore how they have held on to their old ways and to understand the barriers they have erected to finding and embracing alternatives. Together we recognize that they often are of (at least) two minds about changing: one part is impatient to do so and another part is reluctant to part with old, familiar patterns. We try to understand how the old patterns have served them well but are no longer useful. Doing this “letting go” can be scary at first, so we often take things slowly. We simply experiment with new approaches to old problems. As clients become more comfortable with the new approaches, together we observe and encourage integration of the changes into their lives.

In therapy, however, we may together discover that the client actually prefers to keep things the way they are than to risk making changes. This awareness in itself can be therapeutic.

At the root of the work I do is my deep belief in choice. I believe, even when my clients may not, that they always have choices. Awareness of feelings and thoughts is a prerequisite for making new choices, so much of what we do together is work to increase that awareness.

I have a Bachelors' Degree from the University of Chicago in Art History and a Masters Degree in Social Work from Boston University. I am committed to a “social work perspective” in that I view each person very much in the context of larger systems like relationships, family, work, and community.

My post-graduate work has been in family systems treatment, relational therapy and gestalt therapy. All of these orientations have deeply influenced my style of treatment which I characterize as present-centered, problem-solving, supportive, and anti-pathological. I have been influenced as well of course by lots of other forces in my life including my 24-year marriage, my two grown sons, my many friends and colleagues, and involvement in my community.

My style with clients is generally very interactive. I work with adults individually, in couples, and in families. I usually meet with clients once every two weeks but am flexible about frequency and respond to each client's needs and schedules. I see clients between nine and five every day but Tuesday when I am at Brandeis.

Because of my life-long interest in the centrality of work in all of our lives, in addition to psychotherapy, I also provide career counseling at Rasi Associates together with GenNext Partners. I do this at Rasi Associates and am the career counselor at Brandeis University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.