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What is your approach to therapy? What specialized training do you carry in your professional toolbox?
Before joining The BENK Collective, I spent years providing high-quality, accessible therapy to low-income New York City residents. Though I served people experiencing tremendously different obstacles, the one constant I found was that people were in pain, and talk therapy wasn't sufficient in responding to it. To remedy this, I immersed myself in the study of neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology, and the psychotherapeutic modalities that get to the root cause of suffering. I completed training in Eye Movement Sensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), a technique that involves the processing of distressing memories and experiences in a way that reduces their emotional impact. I also studied Internal Family Systems (parts-work) and Somatic Experiencing — modalities that incorporate both the mind and body. I am currently training in the NeuroAffective Relational Model, an advanced clinical training in the treatment of complex trauma. Who are you passionate about working with? I specialize in working with trauma (there’s no scale of what makes something a trauma - it can be a “big” event, a series of repeated and compounding events, or an event that did not seem to have a direct impact). I'm also passionate about working with queer teens and young adults, exploring or questioning their identities. What can someone expect from therapy with you? Often times, we seek out therapy when we want answers to our most pressing questions— what do I do to feel better? Why am I feeling stuck, again? While I know the feeling of wanting a quick fix or even a step-by-step “life manual,” I believe that effective therapy hinges on our ability to increase our capacity for discomfort and uncertainty and reduce the pressure for immediate change— as they say, a watched pot never boils! With me as your therapist, you can expect long-term transformation, as opposed to just short term-change. This takes time, and I will be with you as a shepherd and a guide, and not a coach or tutor, every step of the way. Education:
Master of Social Work, Columbia University Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Gender Studies, University of Wisconsin |
