About My Practice

 

I work with couples, families and children, and I have been in practice for more than 25 years. My office is located in Rhinebeck, NY. Research has shown that couple and family therapy is a very effective treatment for many problems, including depression and anxiety that appear to be localized within the individual. The effectiveness of couple and family therapy stems from the ability to identify and change the dynamics in the relationship that trigger and then reinforce our individual pain. In addition to the problems that people usually come to therapy for, I have found this work to be beneficial for families going through difficult life transitions such as divorce, becoming a step family, loss and bereavement, living with a chronic or life threatening illness and abuse of alcohol or drugs. Although always challenging, we can usually move through these hard times without outside help. Other times we get lost in these transitions and need help in regaining our centers and getting back to our lives. It is at these harder times where couple and family therapy can help.

 

Couples

Over time a relationship can move in many different directions. In difficult times we end up repeating the same arguments and feel "shut down" or unloved. A partner can be a great source of comfort in life or a source of pain. In difficult times we get stuck repeating the same solutions to the same problems without seeing anything change. We then often feel "shut down" and unloved. When caught in these cycles, we lose connection to the parts of ourselves and our partners that we find most fulfilling. My work with couples and families helps to break these unproductive patterns so that new and more hopeful aspects of ourselves and our relationships can unfold. As the old patterns are disrupted, the hidden strengths of our relationships begin to emerge and change is possible. 

 

Children & Teens

 

Kids and teens can move through the ups and downs of life without much difficulty or sometimes they can get stuck. We all want our children to succeed and feel good about themselves and when this isn't happening, parents can feel frustrated, fearful or even overwhelmed. Families come to me for help for a wide range of childhood and adolescent issues, including: difficulty in school; going through divorce; eating disorders; a diagnosis of ADHD or bipolar illness; a teenager who has "shut down"; depression; and involvement in "risky" behaviors.

My approach with these issues is to work with the strength and resources of the child and family. Research shows that children and teens improve faster and results are longer lasting when the family is included in their child's treatment. A goal in family treatment is to access the more helpful aspects of our kids and of ourselves as parents which will contribute to bringing about the desired changes.

 

Brief Biography

 

I was educated at SUNY Downstate Medical Center (BS), Columbia University (MS) with post graduate training at the Minuchin Center for the Family in New York City.

I was an assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, and currently I am on the faculty of the Minuchin Center for the Family. In addition to my private practice, I supervise other therapists in their work with couples and families. I am a Program Consultant to various agencies in the Hudson Valley including substance abuse programs, mental health agencies and hospitals.

 

I hold two NY State Licenses: LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) and RN (Clinical Nurse Specialist in Child/Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing).

 

I was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised my family in Rhinebeck, NY where I currently live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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