About

As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (License #MFC51836), I offer depth-oriented, self-compassion-based therapy. My clinical approach is warm, relational and pragmatic, incorporating Buddhist and Jungian depth psychology, and an understanding of attachment theory and neuroscience. I receive ongoing training and consultation so that I can best serve my clients.

Experience

I have been licensed and maintained a full-time private practice for more than a decade. I am also passionate about teaching self-compassion skills outside of the therapy room. For this reason, I founded the Center for Creative Self-Compassion, (formerly the San Francisco Center for Self-Compassion) and created the Everyday Self-Compassion program.

I have also enjoyed leading groups, workshops and trainings at many counseling centers, agencies, and zen centers, including:

• Huckleberry Youth Services

• The San Francisco Marriage and Couples Center

• The Marina Counseling Center in San Francisco

• Integral Counseling Center at Pierce Street in San Francisco

• Golden Gate Counseling Center in San Francisco

• Austin Zen Center in Austin, TX

• San Antonio Zen Center in San Antonio, TX

• Mid-City Zen Center in New Orleans, LA

Prior to training as a therapist, I worked for 12 years as an editor and writer in New York and San Francisco. I have also lived and worked abroad. I received my B.A. in English from Vassar College, and M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Meditation practice

My work as a therapist is informed by my meditation practice. I have meditated regularly for over 20 years and practiced residentially at San Francisco Zen Center. In 2009, I received lay ordination in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. To learn more about the impact that zen has had on my work, read this interview ~ “What I’m Doing Has to Be Enough.”

Sliding Scale Therapy

I reserve a number of sliding-scale spaces for clients who need them.