A bit about me

Personal interest

I did not consider being a therapist until my senior year of college. As graduation approached, I began to realize that I would not be satisfied by a career if I was not helping people, face-to-face, and in a real and meaningful way. 

I had not yet been in my own therapy, so I didn’t really know what therapy was like or what it was all about. But my initial intentions remained constant during the many years of school, trainings, and practice. 

Graduate school

I earned my Masters and Doctoral degrees at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences in Arlington, VA. Here I found out what therapy actually was, and how badly I and many others needed the kind of help that therapy can provide. I learned the basics of therapy, and gained a solid foundation in psychological theory and science. After the 6 years of grad school, however, I still did not have a central therapeutic modality guiding my work.

Core Training in ISTDP

After graduating from my Doctoral program, I heard about ISTDP from a colleague and friend. The more I learned, the more I was drawn to it. The theory was simple but profound, and the results were very impressive. 

I reached out to a number of ISTDP trainers, and entered a Core Training with David Wolff, a highly skilled and seasoned psychiatrist in Los Angeles. In those three years, I gained so much from the quarterly trainings, supervision, and time spent reviewing videotaped sessions. I solidified my therapeutic methodology and stance in sessions. 

Ongoing training and supervision

In an effort to continue to refine my skills and become a more helpful therapist, I videotape and review my sessions, seek supervision from experts in the field, and engage in trainings in advanced practice of ISTDP. 

Therapy is not easy. Each individual is unique and complex, and deep change can be difficult to facilitate. I expect to be learning until I retire. 

My own therapy

I would not go to a therapist who had not done his own therapy. You shouldn’t either. In my years of analytic therapy, I have learned about myself, my relationships, and the experience of therapy from the perspective of a client, all in a very deep way. I also have seen first-hand that good therapy can have life-changing results.