Some of what I reflect may include patterns of thought, behavior, or emotional avoidance that seem to get in the way of your growth—even in the moment, right there in the room.

Because this process is so immediate and personal, you may have strong reactions to my input. That’s not only okay—it’s a normal part of the process. Together, we’ll look at those reactions. Often, the way you respond to me will mirror how you respond to others outside the therapy room. By observing and exploring these responses as they unfold, we can gain a deep, experiential understanding of your inner world and relational patterns.

This kind of detailed, present-moment exploration gives us a powerful opportunity to shift patterns that may no longer serve you.

In this work, it’s common to encounter internal conflicts—competing motivations that may pull you in different directions. My aim is to help mobilize your healthiest, most life-affirming motivations, and through our joint efforts, to overcome the barriers between you and the life you’re trying to build.

Because I am—and expect always to be—a work in progress, there will inevitably be times when I miss something important, or when I’m not as attuned to you as I’d like to be. When that happens, I make it a point to acknowledge it. I try to let you know when I see that I’ve fallen short. These moments can lead in different directions, but more often than not, they deepen the work. Being transparent about my observations—including when they involve my own limitations—and exploring together what that stirs up is a central part of how I approach psychotherapy.

Couples and Family Therapy

In couples and family therapy, a similar process unfolds, but with added emphasis on your interactions with each other—and with me. I’ll observe and comment on how those interactions either support or hinder collaboration and emotional intimacy. Much of the work involves helping you recognize these patterns in real time, and I often focus on modeling effective communication and teaching key interpersonal skills that can support more constructive engagement.

When everyone in the room shares a clear understanding of what needs to change, we’ll work actively toward those changes. But when there isn’t common ground—when one person sees a problem and another does not—I’ll point that out directly. In such cases, I’ll clarify that without shared recognition that an issue is problematic, we likely won’t be able to make meaningful progress on that front. Naming this respectfully helps us focus our efforts where collaboration is possible.

Working with Children, Teens, and Parents

My work with children, teens, and parents is grounded in psychodynamic understandings of human development—particularly the central role of healthy attachment. Secure bonds with caregivers are crucial for a young person’s emotional and psychological growth. Accordingly, much of my work with youth focuses on repairing ruptured or fractured emotional connections with significant figures in the child or teen’s life.

I also draw inspiration from the work of Dr. Harvey Karp, whose approach emphasizes honoring children’s emotions while setting clear, compassionate limits around how those emotions are expressed. His framework has informed my own emphasis on helping families respond to emotional expression in ways that promote both safety and connection.

It’s not uncommon for me to invite parents into sessions even when the child or teen is the identified client. This is because therapeutic progress with youth often depends on the broader family system learning new ways of relating. Parent involvement is therefore a central part of my work with young people.

In this work, I focus on helping families discover healthier patterns of interaction. In my experience, lasting change in difficult behaviors rarely comes from punitive consequences or from sweeping conflict under the rug. Instead, it emerges through a process of validating the youth’s emotional experience while helping guide and shape how those emotions are expressed. Just as children and teens experience strong feelings, so do parents—and a key step in the work is helping caregivers find supportive ways to manage their own emotions without eclipsing the emotional needs of their child. That said, each family is unique, and the course of therapy is shaped by your particular dynamics and needs.

Some parents may hope for a more structured, task-based approach—worksheets, assignments, or behavioral tracking. I’m always open to incorporating those methods when they seem helpful. Still, my therapeutic bias leans toward addressing real-time behaviors and relational patterns between parents and children. I work to support authoritative parenting (emotional support paired with clear, firm boundaries and expectations), which avoids the pitfalls of both authoritarian and permissive styles. The goal is to help parents express their natural authority in ways that communicate care rather than excessive control, and to ensure that children feel heard, respected, and guided by what is truly in their best interest.

It’s also natural for parents to bring strong hopes or agendas for their child. I welcome and take those into account, but my primary focus remains on the youth’s perspective—on what they feel ready to work on and how they see their own growth.

I do not conduct formal psychological testing or evaluations with children, and I do not take part in legal disputes, except when I am mandated to report suspected abuse.

All parties with legal custody must consent to the child’s treatment and participate in the therapeutic process. I do not accept cases where there is an active custody dispute, or where divorced parents share custody but are unwilling to participate in joint meetings. That said, I am open to working with divorced parents to co-create a parenting plan that allows both to engage meaningfully in the youth’s care.

When I work with divorced parents, communication always occurs jointly—I do not communicate separately with each parent, as doing so often leads to confusion, miscommunication, and a disruption of trust.