About My Therapy Practice
There is so much diversity in the world; everyone has different strengths and different skills. Mine is helping adults to experience relief from suffering and, very often, find greater peace, balance, direction and connection. To achieve this I rely on both intuition and evidence-based research, spirit and science. This is reflective of my own personality, a mix of optimism and skepticism. By nature I’m built to discuss the things that are hard to discuss, and my clients tell me they value the authenticity and directness I bring to my work.
My approach draws from narrative therapy, attachment theory, behaviorism, the philosophy/science of mindfulness, systems thinking, harm reduction, liberation psychology, feminism, and postcolonial theories (among others). I believe that internal psychological experiences are reflected in collective sociological phenomena, and that each informs the other. Of course, being fully seen and fully heard is the foundation of all successful therapies.
Each of us struggles sometimes; some are dealt a bad hand. Like many therapists I am able to assist with anxiety, depression, relationship problems, life transitions and grief. However, I also am comfortable working with issues that some therapists avoid: substance use problems, complex/severe trauma, sexual trauma, sexual problems (including paraphilias), gender identity concerns and “personality disorders.” Regardless of the prompting concern, my door is open to those who want to try things a new way. I strive to provide services that are anti-oppressive, anti-racist, sex-positive and gender-affirming. I do not claim expertise in these things; they are aspirational and I am continually learning and re-learning how to approach my work ethically.
To engage with couples I have pursued advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, or EFT. Rooted in attachment theory, EFT proposes that trust, emotional safety and good attunement form the core of all happy relationships. EFT helps couples repair their connection while creating a healing, loving, stable emotional environment within their relationship.
I am trained in helping clients prepare for psychedelic experiences and integrate the received wisdom afterwards. Additionally, I have received training in EMDR therapy, which is a fascinating evidence-based form of hypnotherapy that has broad application.
About Credentials
While the practice of therapy is rooted in psychology, I pursued graduate training in social work because of my desire to understand the experiences of individuals forced onto the margins of society. As such, justice and equity are key frameworks for me. (I continue to identify as a social worker and practice social work alongside psychotherapy.)
Although my clinical license allows for diagnosis, I only do so when necessary. I find that the DSM-5, though a useful text and a great achievement in epidemiology, does not adequately capture the depth of human experience. It fails to appreciate the impact of injustice, sexism, racism and material impoverishment on psychological development, and it does not understand "trauma" broadly enough, including from an intergenerational perspective. This reflects its origins as a medical text. Unfortunately, a strict biomedical view of mental health tends to ignore political and economic realities. These contexts shape our lived experience and necessarily hold solutions to social, emotional and psychological problems. I believe that truly caring for the self is a radical act, and healing our broken world necessarily begins with healing ourselves as individuals.
About Me
I was raised in Massachusetts and currently reside in Baltimore, MD. I have a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins U. and a master of social work degree from the California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. I identify as queer, white, Jewish, and male/cis-male.
In addition to my work as a therapist, I am a paneled social worker with the Office of the Public Defender of the State of Maryland. It has also been my honor to have taught as an adjunct faculty member of the Morgan State University School of Social Work.
About the Cost of Therapy
My fee is $175 per 50-minute session. Couples therapy costs $250 per 80-minute session. I have a sliding scale for clients with financial barriers and I maintain a pro bono caseload through the Pro Bono Counseling Project.