About Me

 I was born in Los Angeles, California where I have spent the majority of my life although I have lived in New York, Michigan, and Ireland. I was educated at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and the University of California at Santa Cruz where I graduated with a B.A. in Creative Writing / Literature. I earned my graduate degree with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute in Los Angeles, California.

I’ve had extensive experience with addiction and recovery as well as complicated grief, complex trauma, mood disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorders working with both veteran and civilian populations. Additionally, I have developed a deep appreciation and familiarity working with couples to help promote effective communication, emotional expression, and clearer boundaries to cultivate healthier and more mutually rewarding relationships.

Before my career in psychotherapy, I was fortunate to travel extensively both internationally and domestically as a travel and food & wine writer authoring various books and publications. These special opportunities to travel and experience other countries and cultures have forever shaped me and become a vital component to the unique perspective I have developed towards appreciating, understanding and empathizing with a diverse population of human beings that I bring to my role as a psychotherapist.

These experiences combined with the personal growth and emotional development attained through my own psychotherapeutic journey became the catalyst for me wanting to join this transformative field where I could be in a position to share and give back to my clients the profound impact that it has had on defining my life, my self-awareness, and my interpersonal relationships.