Prior to entering graduate school in clinical psychology, I worked in a research group at Massachusetts General Hospital. We did longitudinal studies of mood, anxiety and personality disorders as part of field research for the DSM. The group later moved to Butler Hospital of Brown University Medical School where we continued with the same research. The work involved in-depth clinical interviewing to determine presence, history, symptoms and course of the above mentioned mental health conditions. This experience underscored for me the universality of these illnesses and at the same time the unique ways in which symptoms show up differently for different people. This gave me hope because I realized that mental illness and psychic pain are part of the human experience and so perhaps we can grow to understand each other's struggles free from blame and judgement.
"Come to know yourself more deeply and to accept yourself more fully"
Education & Experience
Upon receiving my PhD in clinical psychology, I took a position at Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn, NY. There I was part of a research study looking at PTSD in those who were physically traumatized since the hospital was a Level 1 trauma center which meant that we saw a lot of victims of car accidents, shootings, fires. I supervised and taught psychiatric residents. I also supervised a Project Liberty program at Downstate which was a state funded program to address the mental health needs of all New Yorkers in response to 9/11. We ran a hotline, did public outreach and education and provided mental health support to any New Yorkers who were impacted by 9/11. From Downstate, I moved to Mt Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan where I continued to work on trauma research protocols. I came to realize that my strength and my love was actual clinical work and so from there I began working in private practice.
Community Engagement/Leadership
- Board Member
Response Crisis Center of Long Island
November 2023 - present
Along with fellow board members, I oversee the clinical, financial, educational, and staffing goals of the organization; Chairperson of the Policy Committee - Society for The Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration
- The American Psychological Association
- Anxiety and Depression Association of America
- International Association of Relational Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis