Some of my earliest and fondest memories are the long family car rides from Connecticut to my grandparents’ house in Brockton. When I was in elementary school, my mother went back to graduate school to become a school psychologist. During those trips, when boredom set in, I would ask her to “give me a test!” She would practice what she was learning, and I loved it! Doing puzzles, defining words, drawing shapes… I didn’t yet understand how all the pieces came together, but I was fascinated by how much psychological testing could reveal about a child, and how that understanding could help parents and schools better support the child in areas of difficulty.

I have always been a keen observer of people, and always had a strong interest and curiosity about people’s thoughts, feelings, motivation and behavior, along with an appreciation for relationships and human connection. Bringing together my interest in the human brain with my enjoyment of working closely with people and being a helper, psychology was a natural career path. I majored in psychology at Barnard College/Columbia University, graduating in 1998.

After receiving my Bachelor’s degree, I knew that getting a graduate degree was essential, but I was torn between research (Ph.D.) and clinical work (Psy.D.). Both felt equally interesting and compelling, so I stayed in NYC and accepted my first job as a research assistant in the Department of Psychiatry at Mt Sinai Hospital & Medical Center. I worked in a neuroimaging (P.E.T.) laboratory on research examining the brain and psychopathology in order to better understand and treat disorders such as schizophrenia and dementia. It was an exciting time in the field, just when functional MRI technology was emerging and being used with already existing imaging technologies such as P.E.T. I loved being part of a multi-disciplinary team with physicians, statisticians, chemists, other research assistants, and the principal investigators who were making cutting-edge discoveries in the field. I learned a lot, but most of all I learned that I enjoyed working directly with patients— recruiting them for studies, guiding them through the process and their visits to the lab, and supporting them throughout their participation. It became clear to me that a career focused solely on research/academia would not allow enough opportunity for direct human connection. I wanted to become a psychologist to learn to do both testing and psychotherapy. The therapeutic relationship is sacred and meaningful, and serves as a foundation from which a person can feel supported and accepted, and that is what allows healing and growth to happen.

I decided to pursue clinical training and earned my doctorate in psychology (Psy.D.) from The George Washington University Center for Professional Psychology in 2006. I completed my pre-doctoral internship at a medical center in Brooklyn, NY followed by post-doctoral residencies in the Washington DC area. I became licensed in 2008, and have since been licensed in Virginia, New York and Massachusetts.

Over the past 18 years since becoming independently licensed, I have worked in a range of settings, including acute inpatient psychiatric units, HIV clinics, and outpatient agencies serving diverse populations. I continue to find this work deeply meaningful and cannot imagine doing anything else!