Professional and Personal

I was born and raised in NYC and came to California over 30 years ago drawn by my love of nature and the beauty of the West Coast. I love hiking on the many nearby trails including frequent walks at the Lafayette Reservoir, and enjoy visiting Pt. Reyes and Yosemite National Park when I can. I also enjoy traveling and have traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada as well as through Mexico, Central and South America, Europe and Asia.

Community service has always been an important part of my life. After graduating college, I volunteered at Downstate Medical Center, a large teaching hospital in New York City, where I worked in a Child Life Program with seriously ill children. This led to my interest in doing grief counseling. Losing my mother at an early age has made grief counseling a personally meaningful path for me. In the early 1980’s I volunteered at Kaiser Hospice in Walnut Creek when they had an inpatient hospice unit.  I later helped launch HIV services for Contra Costa County with a group of medical doctors, nurses and social workers. I started the Client Services Department and provided support for volunteers and patients. Currently I am involved in a neighborhood program that extends help to neighbors who need support.

I graduated Queens College (part of the City University of New York) with honors, and completed my graduate degree in Counseling Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California. I have been a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists since 1985.  In 1991 I was part of the Center for Creative Growth in Berkeley, a group that served as a therapist support team for John Bradshaw during his many seminars in the Bay Area.  I am also a licensed massage practitioner in Swedish and Shiatsu massage. While I no longer actively practice in this area, my awareness of the body and how emotional energy can be held in the body has informed my work with clients.