My Background

All the choices that I have made have led me to where I am today-doing the work I love, therapy and supervision.  I love being part of the therapeutic process as I see someone become the person he or she was meant to be.  I love providing supervision because I have the chance to work with the most curious and motivated people that I know-new therapists.  I started out as a teacher.  I began teaching first grade and moved up to 5th-8th.   I taught the same students for 5 years and truly enjoyed getting to know them and their families.  Being a coach also brought an added level of closeness.  Having a private practice in learning disabilities gave me the desire to work with people individually.

I returned to graduate school at University of Southern California.  Thus began my second passion - doing therapy.  Since I have stayed in the same business for a long time (40 years), I have worked with lots of clients doing lots of things.  Some of my experiences include being the owner of  and director of 3 alcohol and drug and agencies.  I have done everything in the recovery area from social model detox to in-patient at Century City Hospital.

One of my favorite populations was the developmentally delayed.  Imagine starting each day with hugs from all your clients.  I also specialize  in what I believe is the hardest work of all-parents who have lost a child.  They, too, can experience  relief as they grieve their child.  For three years I was a consultant to the Military. I traveled to Army, Navy and Air Force Bases and provided therapy to the military members and their families. During that time I began to understand the sacrifices that military families were making. I worked not only with adults, but with children as well. They, too, were greatly affected especially while their parents were deployed.

These are some of the jobs I have held in the therapy field. During this time I have also had a private practice. For 31  of those years, it was full time. Since I moved several times, I was forced to begin anew each time in different locations with different populations. People come to therapy for a wide range of reasons.  It  has been a privilege and sometimes a challenge to find ways to work with them. I have often had clients for 7-8 years. They came for a year or 3, and then came back again and again- kinda like seeing a doctor. I love doing long-term, integrative work.