I am a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist. I began my study of the mind and human behavior at Georgetown University where I earned my undergraduate degree in psychology. I went on to study clinical social work and the practice of psychotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania, where I earned my MSW and DSW degrees from the School of Social Policy and Practice. I have advanced training in the treatment of trauma and relational social work.
My early experiences providing psychotherapy were with children and adolescents. I have worked with children and families in many different levels of care, including residential treatment, intensive outpatient and partial hospital programs. I have also worked in college counseling, providing psychotherapy to undergraduate and graduate students with a wide array of life challenges and mental health symptoms. I have specialized experience in working with victims and survivors of trauma, particularly those who have experienced sexual abuse in childhood or acute traumas as an adult.
I split my time between my clinical practice, my writing and teaching. I currently teach at the University of Pennsylvania in both the MSW and DSW programs. I teach emerging graduate students about mental health diagnosis, the treatment of depression and anxiety, and relational theoretical approaches to clinical social work practice.
I feel fortunate to have several publications which focus on the treatment of dissociative disorders, and the neurobiology of dissociative experiences in the therapeutic relationship.