About me:
I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. I attended the University of Washington as an undergraduate and Antioch University where I earned a Master's Degree in Psychology.

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington State. After graduate school, I enrolled in a psychoanalytic training program and embarked on ten additional years of professional education becoming a full member of the Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society and a Fellow of the International Psychoanalytic Association in 2004. In 2017, I became Board Certified in Psychoanalysis by the Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies.

I opened my private practice in Fremont in 1995. In addition to my work with children and adults, I founded The Alliance Community Psychotherapy Clinic, a non profit project of the Northwest Alliance for Psychoanalytic Study. I served in various roles in that organization from 1995 until 2008 when I left the board of directors. I regularly teach at various psychoanalytic training programs both locally and nationally.

In recent years I have been fortunate to be part of a group named INSPIRA, The International Symposium on Psychoanalytic Intervention and Research into Autism. We are a group of psychoanalysts from around the world who gather every other year to explore how to better understand and treat children with autism. I'm formerly a Trustee of the Frances Tustin Memorial Trust and frequently participated in their national and international conferences. Another project that makes a difference to me is working with the Gunawirra Foundation in Sydney, Australia. For several years I have provided weekly consultation to clinicians working with young Aboriginal children. I continue to be inspired by what I am learning working with Norma Tracey and her group.

My current professional interests involve several writing projects related to psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. I have a particular focus in British Object Relations, especially the work of Wilfred Bion, Frances Tustin, and Donald Meltzer. I'm also interested in many contemporary writers such as Michael Eigen, Christopher Bollas, Antonino Ferro, Thomas Ogden, and James Grotstein. Future publications will focus on the themes of listening, autism, obstructive object relations, and the mystery of symbolization among other topics. All my study is animated by practical attention to the question "how does psychotherapy work?" I'm increasingly influenced by over twenty years of meditation practice (Tibetan Buddhism)  as well as by explorations of Qi-gong. My long term goal is to write about how these different paths converge in the therapist's task of listening and helping others. I am currently working on a second book to be titled: An Open Gate: Listening After Bion. My goal is to publish by 2022.


Photo credit: Kay