Originally trained as a musician, I learned to listen deeply, and internalized a sense of rhythm and pacing, structure and improvisation, crucial elements of therapeutic process. I went on to obtain an MSW at Columbia University and worked as a community social worker in hospitals, schools, and most significantly at a homeless shelter for women for about 10 years. This work was foundational to my formation as a therapist as I was taught the importance of meeting a client as a whole person in their suffering and resilience.
I then pursued psychoanalytic training at the National Institute for Psychotherapies (NIP TI). This intensive four-year program prepared me to launch a private practice where I have worked with individuals and couples for over 20 years.
My intention for the work has remained steady, to support people in becoming curious about themselves and their patterns, both the rigid and protective ones, as well as the generative and creative ones. I have deep experience working with all kinds of conditions including depression, anxiety, grief, developmental transitions across the life span, and have grounded experience working with trauma.
I also have a keen interest in understanding and engaging with the impact of oppressive systemic forces including racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ablism, etc… I am on a continuous journey to refine my own awareness of my social location, how it shapes my work, and my relationships in the world at large.
Bodywork
As a regular yoga practitioner and meditator, the embodied and spiritual realms have always fascinated and supported me. I completed a two-year foundation training at Stillpoint in NYC with Franklyn Sills, a pioneer of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST), from the Karuna Institute in England. I subsequently studied the application of BCST with pregnant women and babies, and have participated in advanced BCST trainings on embryology, viscera, and the vagus nerve and social nervous system. Additionally, I’ve completed a foundation training in Bodynamics, a clinical method for working with developmental issues from a somatic perspective.
Teaching
I’m currently a faculty member, supervisor, and training analyst at the National Institute for Psychotherapies, and have co-taught a course called Self and Other: Psychoanalysis, Race and Culture at Union Theological Seminary since 2008. I have the weekly pleasure of supervising early practitioners, individually and in groups, and enjoy being a mentor in different capacities, as I greatly value intergenerational cross-pollination.
My work has taken me to Haiti as a teacher, trainer and bodyworker. I’m currently a board member of CESSA, a center for mental health and spirituality founded by my esteemed Haitian friend and colleague, Dr. Wismick Jean Charles, in Port-au-Prince.