I’m honored to work with women, transgender and non-binary clients to resolve new or chronic symptoms of anxiety, depression and trauma. 

Mental health symptoms can lead to becoming increasingly isolated and affect our social ties. I view my role as helping clients use their existing strengths and build additional ones to help them thrive.

My most rewarding experiences as a therapist are working with clients to increase their assertiveness and foster a greater sense of control over their lives.

Please note I only work with clients that are 18 or older.

I start by doing a phone consultation with prospective clients to get a sense of what type of treatment they are seeking and if I might be a good fit for those needs. At our first session I emphasize going slowly with the history taking process and do a lot of education around tracking the “window of tolerance” in sessions. I typically recommend weekly 60 minute individual sessions. Clients adjust to bi-weekly or monthly sessions when they feel they’ve accomplished some of the tasks they set out to do in treatment. I may also recommend referrals to other treatment resources such as medication providers.

I generally provide a lot of education up front in the period where we are building the therapeutic relationship. I spend time discussing and assessing for dissociation both because I think it’s important for treatment but also because I don’t think it’s talked about enough. Some early topics I usually touch on are “window of tolerance,” polyvagal theory, somatic awareness and grounding, and mindfulness strategies. In EMDR this broadly falls under what is called the “preparation phase.” I have more information on all these topics in my resource section.

Due to the nature of EMDR & trauma work I am not able at this time to work with clients who are actively suicidal or have a life threatening addiction. If you need referrals I will do my best to provide them.

Sometimes clients come to me having had an existing diagnosis given to them, some of them don’t. Most often people are finding me because they’ve been recommended for EMDR or they are looking particularly for trauma-informed treatment.

There are times when a diagnosis can be helpful, and people describe feeling some relief at “having a name” that describes some of their experiences. There are times when a diagnosis is harmful in that it carries stigma that could effect how other medical providers view someone. There are times when a diagnosis is necessary for accessing care, such as the requirement from all insurers that a client receive a diagnosis in order to submit claims for reimbursement. Also some treatment programs and options require certain diagnosis to qualify for the treatment (for instance, the IOL runs a truly excellent DBT intensive program, but a BPD diagnosis is required to meet participation criteria).

Particularly after my semester teaching diagnosis, I always keep at the front of my mind that the DSM is a culturally-constructed document. There is sexism, classism and racism embedded in a lot of these diagnoses. And concepts around diagnoses are evolving. For instance, “complex PTSD” did not make it into the most recent DSM even though many clinicians and researchers campaigned for it.

I therefore strive to be collaborative with clients about diagnoses. I explain what my thinking process is and the pros and cons of viewing a set of symptoms through a particular diagnostic lens.

I see clients in-person at my Hartford, CT office. Many insurance and payment questions are handled on my FAQ.