About me

The basics

I'm a psychotherapist with a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Columbia University and an MBA from INSEAD in France. I've been working with clients as a therapist or coach for over 20 years and currently see clients in-person in my Chelsea office, near Penn Station or virtually on Zoom. I'm fluent in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German and do therapy and coaching in all of those (other than German). Although I'm a white American, I've lived in France, Spain, Germany and Brazil and believe strongly in the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and belonging.

My approach to psychotherapy / counseling

I agree with research that shows the relationship between the client and the therapist, and trust are key in making progress in therapy or counseling. I've been a therapist and coach for over 20 years and have integrated a number of different ways of helping my clients. This includes Diana Fosha's AEDP (accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy), Sue Johnson's EFT (emotionally focused therapy for couples), John Gottman's research on couples, Emily Nagoski's work on sexuality and desire in couples, and Bruce Ecker's Coherence Therapy.

Instead of pathologizing and diagnosing (unless required by an insurance company), I believe that whatever we're experiencing makes sense, even if we don't understand why. Part of our job in therapy is often trying to understand why it makes sense that we're doing something or feeling something that we're trying to change. And, not understanding what's going on inside us often leads to further stress and/or anxiety.

When working with couples, or individuals who are trying to improve relationships, I find that there are often issues around communication where people haven't had good examples of what it looks like to communicate effectively when emotions are high and there's a lot of conflict. So, often we focus on understanding what the fights are really about and how to communicate more effectively about what each person wants and needs. I also believe that attachment theory can be an important lens when trying to understand why we act the way we do in close relationships.

Why I became a therapist / counselor / coach

I received an MBA from INSEAD and worked for small and large corporations (including American Express) before deciding, 20 years ago, that what I really wanted to do was to help people more directly and that the way I wanted to do that was by becoming a therapist / counselor. Like many therapists and counselors growing up, I was someone that people would often come to with their issues and problems. In college, I became a peer counselor and bookmarked therapy / counseling as something I might want to do sometime later in my life.

While I was getting my degree to become a therapist and counselor, I started hearing about something called coaching and realized that would also be a great way to help even more people, bringing my business education and experience to clients who would benefit from that. So, for the past twenty years, I have been helping people as a therapist, counselor, and coach, as well as helping therapists and coaches to understand the relationship between therapy and coaching

More about me

I serve on the boards of Coaching for Social Justice and the Global Association for Interpersonal Neurobiology Studies, have worked with many intercultural clients, including expats, and have been exploring the relationship between therapy and coaching and how best to help people change for over 20 years.