I was an actor and writer in my 20’s, struggling financially and emotionally to support my elderly, sick parents. A social worker’s interventions allowed for my elderly parents to receive quality health care that was affordable, provided numerous quality-of-life resources for them, and allowed for me to “have a life” (e.g., pursue a career, find time for self-care). This social worker also provided all of us quality psychotherapy. I remember the transformative shift in how I perceived the world once this social worker helped us, and I never forgot it. When the time came for me to change careers, and I knew I wanted to work, day to day, in the spirit of service, the above experience was the inspiration for my decision to become a social worker.

I work well with clients who want to fully participate in the teamwork necessary for change to occur. Still, if a client is ambivalent about whether they want to change, that, too, is a processing phenomenon which I enjoy working within and through. The client defines what their needs and wants are at every point in our work together, and I can always be of service to anyone as long as their needs and wants are established.

I am most excited to work with anyone who provides me the opportunity to work with them (not a catchphrase). I try to always be in a state of learning, of not-knowing. As a consequence, my being a witness to, and participant of, all of the work ALL of my clients engage in towards transformative change is a humbling and inspiring experience.

I wanted to work for a social justice-centered organization composed of highly qualified mental health practitioners who create a culture of learning, inspiration, and kindness.

I wish my clients knew that there is a strong interplay between each individual’s unique biological make-up (e.g., genetics) and the situations they confront in their lives, which often synergize to cause mental health disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression, self-harm). These are nothing more than natural, biological responses to gain relief from pain and stress. Thus, it is critical that the patient move past shame around such disorders. An important question to ask is: "Are the ways in which my body, mind, and soul are protecting me from real or imagined pain (e.g., substance use, obsessive thinking) serving me or hurting me?" If the answer is "hurting," then working with a psychotherapist can help one manifest a future self which responds to environmental and biologic stressors in productive, self-caring, and transcendental ways.