clinical psychologist
INTERESTS & SPECIALIZATIONS
Empowering Women
Life Transitions
Healing Early Trauma
Spiritual Exploration
"Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world."
– MAHARSHI
I offer a free 20-minute phone consultation to determine if you would like to set up an initial appointment. If we discover your needs would be better served by someone else, I will be happy to offer you a referral.
Working Together
With over twenty years of experience as a psychologist, I offer a psycho-spiritual perspective on our work together. I specialize in helping people find balance in their busy, sometimes overwhelming lives. I tailor every session with a collaborative approach to psychotherapy with adults who desire change, personal fulfillment, and overall well-being. Creating a safe and supportive environment where trust can grow is key to your successful treatment. I include mindfulness practices, somatic awareness, inquiry, insight, psychological education and the latest in neuroscience discoveries to guide our work together.
​
​Suffering from chronic stress, worry, shame, depression, trauma, or a noisy inner critic can undermine one’s ability to cope with the flow of life. Psychotherapy with me provides the opportunity for you to work through feelings and beliefs as well as the habits and relationship dynamics that contribute to suffering. While understanding that the historical basis of psychological issues can play a big role in freeing you from entrenched patterns, I encourage our work together to be focused on the present moment.
​
I work with people from all walks of life who struggle with the complexities of being human and I welcome people from all cultural, racial, and religious backgrounds.
"For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them."
– THICH NHAT HANH
Therapy for Women
I work with women who struggle with the emotional issues that arise across the lifespan including post-partum, parenting, menopause, empty nesting, careers beginning or ending, loss or questions like “Who am I” or “What is my purpose?” You could be...
-
Feeling uncertain in a new role in life, or you have outgrown an old one.
-
Adjusting to unforeseen changes in your body, spirit or mind.
-
Finding yourself in situations that unintentionally make others’ needs more important than your own.
-
Identified with a career role, but find it no longer is rewarding in the same way.
-
Noticing you are more focused on ‘doing’ to avoid painful or unpleasant feelings.
-
​
These situations often result in behaviors that can cause you to feel stressed, inadequate, or angry. This downward spiral results in falling deeper into negative patterns including isolating or a tendency to over-achieve.
Through our work together we can begin to unpack the thoughts and beliefs that keep mental habits in place in order to reclaim a whole sense of self. By reclaiming our authentic selves, we can reorient to a life more grounded in freedom and truth.
"Vulnerability is the most transformative, life changing and life-affirming aspect of the Divine Feminine."
– FREYA DWYER
Individual Psychotherapy
You have the potential to live life in a way that embodies your authentic self with the capacity to change, heal and grow across your life span. However, in these challenging times it can be difficult to find the way. You may function on the outside but feel stuck on the inside, repeating the same patterns, unable to see a way free from them. Psychotherapy with me can provide a venue to develop psychological flow. These strategies allow for a greater sense of fulfillment, value and inner peace.
​
Psychological flow supports the capacity to recognize the impermanent nature of our experiences and to navigate the ups and downs of life in a way that doesn’t reject feelings but allows for a smoother journey through these natural ebbs and flows. This approach includes developing awareness of your inner experience, being open to your feelings and vulnerability, and knowing what truly matters to you and taking steps in that direction.
"Letting go is a powerful act. Letting BE creates new worlds."
– CYNTHIA BOURGEAULT
For Spiritual Explorers
Many people have a longing for a deeper sense of purpose and to know the core of who they are. This longing goes beyond the formation of the personality structure; a desire arises to become more acquainted with the consciousness and awareness that is the essence of your being. This quest requires courage and steadfastness to stay the course. To know yourself in this meaningful way requires a dedicated dive to discover what gets in the way of living life authentically.
​
Developing a process through which to reflect on the parts of the personality that constrict this journey is achieved through inquiring into experience that deepens self-understanding, and mindfulness practices that build awareness. With attuned support the journey can become an exciting opportunity to thrive in a fulfilled and enriched way.
​
I will work collaboratively with you in an open, supportive working relationship. I can offer my reflections, guidance, and knowledge as together we discover the essence of your being and the freedom to live as a fuller, freer self. Most importantly from this perspective there is no right or wrong way to follow your path.
"You are in a cocoon of your own bad habits, and you must be freed to spread your wings of beautiful divine qualities."
– YOGANANDA
About Me
I have been a licensed psychologist in California since 2002 and have recently become licensed and am practicing in person in Charlottesville, Virginia. I hold master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA and I interned at the San Francisco Carl Jung Institute and the UCSF Infant Parent Program. I am also the mother of twins.
​
I approach my work through a blended lens of neuroscience, mindfulness and how our experience is influenced by body memory. I enjoy helping others access their natural resilience and compassion as tools for engaging a more whole sense of being.
​
​My spiritual education is based on over three decades of non-dual meditation practice and a life-long quest for knowing our deepest nature. I have studied many traditions including Christian Mysticism, New Thought Religions, and Tibetan Buddhism and hold the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and Ramana Maharshi close to my heart. I have been a student in the Diamond Approach, a path of inner discovery, since 2004, and a yoga student for over four decades.
​
Fees & Insurance
My fee for a fifty-minute session is $180 based on weekly meetings. I offer in-person meetings at Charlottesville Psychological Association in Charlottesville, Virginia and telehealth sessions in Virginia and California.
​
​While I am not affiliated with any HMOs, PPOs or Medicare, if you wish to pursue an insurance claim, I can provide you with a billing statement. If we are meeting at Charlottesville Psychological Association, I can submit an out-of-network provider claim to your insurance on your behalf. Since coverage varies widely, I recommend that you check with your insurance company or Flexible Spending Account administrator to see what services your policy includes.
"When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life."
– JEAN SHINODA BOLEN
