LCSW, phd
about me
Like many psychotherapists, the reason that I’m now equipped with the tools to help others is largely because of the lessons I learned through my own psychological suffering. I tried several different kinds of therapy and found many of the approaches to be superficial. I felt like I was being given band-aids for the bleeding when I wanted to cauterize the wound.
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I didn’t want coping skills for my depression, I wanted to know why I was depressed. I wanted to know why I kept behaving in such a way that I was undermining my own goals and unraveling the very life I was trying to build for myself.
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I had taken psychology classes and completed a graduate degree in social work, only to find that the clinical skills I had learned were painfully inadequate in helping me answer these fundamental questions. And if I couldn’t answer them for myself, what business did I have trying to help others do the same?​
​​My world quickly turned upside-down when I discovered the work of C. G. Jung, a psychological theorist distinguished primarily by his focus on the unconscious, instinctual, and transpersonal dimensions of the psyche. Through Jung I realized that I would never understand the source of my depression by analyzing the parts of myself of which I was already aware. I had to become conscious of the parts I didn’t yet know. This basic shift in my perspective completely changed my life. I wanted to help others achieve the same kinds of breakthroughs, so I decided to leave behind my previous life as a professional musician and start my career in clinical practice.​​
Qualifications
& Specializations
Education
Bachelors and Masters in Social Work from CSU, Sacramento
MA & PhD in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute
(with specialization in Jungian and Archetypal Studies)
specialized trainings in
Jungian analysis and dreamwork
EMDR and Brainspotting
Archetypal astrology and psychology
Transpersonal psychology
Typological assessment
Psychedelic and non-ordinary states
Narrative therapy
Psychosomatic challenges and chronic illness
Auto-immune conditions