My first goal as a therapist is for you to feel both seen and understood—the good things about you, the not so good, the problems, the potential. My second goal is to create a space where you can slow down, reconnect with yourself, and begin to respond — rather than react — to the challenges of being human. Whether we’re working on habit change, or dealing with relationships, or managing serious mental health challenges, my overall goal is to help my patients realign their actions, values, and life demands in a way that allows them to free themselves from their suffering.

Clinically, I draw from behavioral psychology, developmental theory, and existential philosophy. Behavioral science forms the foundation of most contemporary evidence-based therapies and is an especially helpful place to begin when addressing serious problems. The therapy is structured, goal-focused and pragmatic, helping patients develop skills to respond differently to triggers, to make more conscious choices, and to build healthier habits. Results are usually measured in terms of reductions in the behavioral patterns and symptoms of distress and dysfunction that brought the patient to therapy.

But science alone doesn’t solve everything. When people deal with loss, moral dilemmas, problems that can’t change, or questions of purpose or identity, the mode of therapy becomes less structured, more open. Questions are sought that allow you to explore the roots of who you are, or should be. This process entails questions that have bedeviled humanity for ages and may involve deep ethical or spiritual quandaries. As a longtime student of philosophy, religion, culture, art, and history, I welcome ideas from all domains of life into these conversations as illustrations, suggestions and examples of the wise and not so wise humans who’ve existed before us.

We live in a time of deep uncertainty — socially, politically, even metaphysically. But in all the mayhem and confusion, new understandings of human potential have also emerged. Interestingly, we live in a moment where behavioral science and ancient contemplative practices have converged into evidence-based methods that help people regulate their nervous systems, develop greater self-awareness, and recover a sense of engagement and purpose in their lives. Once learned, these skills provide powerful means to deal with the stress and distress of the world today, leveraging a more present-focused awareness into a more fulfilling existence.

I treat the spectrum of mental disorders with expertise in addiction, trauma, anxiety, and co- occurring conditions. I’ve practiced in public and private outpatient clinics, VA medical centers, primary care settings, and community programs. I also conduct research with health technology and stay up to date on devices and software that are available for my patients, as well as the best ways to use them. I have significant experience developing residential treatment programs and digital behavioral health tools for use in healthcare, education, government and military systems.

Whatever brings you to therapy — a quiet ache, a disruptive crisis, or even serious mental illness — I will meet you with genuine positive regard and the latest clinical science. My role is not to judge or fix you, but to help connect you with the capacity for healing that already exists within you.