“IT IS IN PLAYING AND ONLY IN PLAYING THAT THE INDIVIDUAL CHILD OR ADULT IS ABLE TO BE CREATIVE AND TO USE THE WHOLE PERSONALITY, AND IT IS ONLY IN BEING CREATIVE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERS THE SELF.”
Donald Winnicott
ALL ABOUT THERAPY
Therapy is a leap into the unknown. This can be scary for parents and their child. An accepting, knowledgeable and experienced child and adolescent therapist can help ease your concerns. As a clinical psychologist with specialized training and experience with children, adolescents and their parents I would be happy to meet with you to discuss whether treatment is appropriate for your child.
MY APPROACH
Therapy That Fits Your Child
No two children are alike. No two treatments can be alike either. I try to learn all I can about your child from you and from them. What is he or she like? What are his strengths? What is he struggling with? How can we connect? Research shows that therapy's best results come from a strong positive connection to the therapist.
Play is a big part of my work with children. Why? When children play they freely show their concerns and struggles and this helps me understand them. In play children also experiment with solutions to their struggles and I can help them discover these solutions.
Teens talk more and play less. Many can talk openly about their struggles and I can help them find solutions. The relationship is central with teens and and humor plays an important part as we face serious issues.
MY APPROACH
Working Together with You
You are the most important person in your child's life. I believe that successful child therapy is built around this basic truth. For this reason, I always involve parents in the overall treatment. I meet with parents weekly or bi-weekly in a separate session from your child. In these meetings I share with you what I see in my work with your child so that you can understand him or her better. You and I can then think of ways that you can help your child grow and thrive. I view our meetings as collaborative, solution-oriented and focused on your strengths as a parent.
MY QUALIFICATIONS
Because Training and Experience Matter
CHILD-ADOLESCENT TRAINING
September 2014-August 2017
I devoted my post-doctoral training to child and adolescent psychotherapy as a Fellow at Los Angeles's renowned Reiss-Davis Child Study Center. My work focused on treating boys from age 4 to age 18 who struggled with anxiety, depression, oppositional-defiant and conduct disorders, social difficulties, obsessions, adaptation to divorce, and childhood trauma. In all cases, I also worked with parents to support them in working toward their child's growth and recovery.
My Fellowship also included intensive academic study of child psychotherapy and parenting techniques as well as the role of early attachment and the brain in a child's development.
JUNGIAN TRAINING
September 2003-Present
I have extensive training and experience in Jungian theory and practice and completed four years of Jungian analyst training in Switzerland. My pre-doctoral internship (2012-2014) was at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles. This Jungian training developed sensitivity to the meaning of images and figures children use in play. It also developed my proficiency in working with dreams and other fantasies.
COUNSELOR TO L.D. STUDENTS
September 2010-June 2011
For my clinical practicum I served as a counselor at Loyola High School to students with learning differences such as ADHD, agraphia and dyslexia. I also helped organization a program of testing accommodations for these students.
CLINICAL AND ACADEMIC TRAINING
FELLOWSHIP, REISS-DAVIS CHILD STUDY CENTER
September 2014 - August 2017
Long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy with children (ages 4-18) and collateral parenting work. Intensive academic education in child psychotherapy, parenting and the role of early attachment and the brain in a child's development.
PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE
September 2009 - August 2014
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology. My dissertation, Giegerich’s Psychology of Soul: Psychotherapeutic Implications examined the work of modern Jungian analyst, Wolfgang Giegerich.
INTERNSHIP, C.G. JUNG INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES
September 2012 - August 2014
Long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy with clients facing anxiety, depression, adjustment disorders, bipolar disorder, obsessions and compulsions.
CLINICAL PRACTICUM, FAMILIES IN NEW DIRECTIONS
October 2011 - June 2012
Counseled clients primarily from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds; administered and scored psychological tests and drafted psychological assessments.
CLINICAL PRACTICUM, LOYOLA HS, OUTREACH CONCERN
September 2010 - June 2011
Counseled students with learning differences. Organized Loyola’s testing accommodations for LD students.
CENTRE FOR DEPTH PSYCHOLOGY ACCORDING TO C.G. JUNG
September 2003 - March 2009
Study of Jungian psychology. Passed the theoretical exams, the first phase in training to become a Jungian analyst.
MY PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
THE ALCHEMY OF PLAY
In this publication I explored the role of aggression in forming a boy's constructive relationship to me, his therapist, to his peers and to the world. Daniel Anderson (2018) "The Alchemy of Play,"Psychological Perspectives, 61(2)
VIOLENCE, INDIVIDUATION AND REALITY:
CASE STUDY OF A 10 YEAR-OLD BOY
In this capstone presentation for my Fellowship, I examined the importance of challenge and opposition for developing a child's sense of self. These principles are examined in light of my work over two years with a highly oppositional boy. Grand Rounds Presentation, Reiss-Davis Child Study Center (2016)
PLAY AND THE PSYCHE
In this presentation I explored the nature of play and its role in the psyche and in the individuation process. I also examined the Jungian perspective on play. Analytical Psychology Club, Los Angeles (2015)
REFLECTIONS ON A CASE STUDY OF NEUROSIS
In this publication I re-examined from a post-Jungian perspective a previously published Jungian case study of an adult woman suffering from claustrophobia and agoraphobia. Book chapter in Psychology as the Discipline of Interiority (Routledge, 2017)
OTHER PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
“Psychology as a Discipline of Interiority and Psychotherapy as an Art of Spontaneity.” Third International Conference of the International Society of Psychology as a Discipline of Interiority. Malibu, California (2016)
“Giegerich’s Psychology of Soul: Clinical Implications.” C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles (2016)
“A Case Study of Neurosis in Light of PDI.” Second International Conference of the International Society of Psychology as a Discipline of Interiority. Berlin, Germany (2014)
“Reflections on Neurosis and the Modern Soul.” First International Conference of the International Society of Psychology as a Discipline of Interiority. Berlin, Germany (2012)
“Dionysos: Past and Present.” C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles and C.G. Jung Club of Orange County (2010)
