Background:

My lifespan approach to understanding the human condition started early and out of a fascination for the range of our individual and shared experiences. For example, as a teenager I volunteered at a children’s festival as well as at a residential program for individuals with advanced dementia.

Since then, I have cultivated an appreciation for the ages and stages of life, as opportunities for growth and self-exploration — especially when life gets hard.

As a clinician, I have worked across many systems and settings of care, with individuals and families, in quiet moments when there is time for reflection and understanding, as well as in moments of crisis that require focused and intensive interventions.

I consider times of transition, be it on the threshold of adulthood, parenthood, older age, or following unforeseen circumstances, to be special opportunities, working from a developmental perspective that reaches from the ‘cradle to the grave.’ It is a privilege to be a part of someone’s life journey,.

  • I am licensed to practice in New York, Connecticut and under the PYSPACT commission in 35+ states across the US — https://psypact.org/mpage/psypactmap.

Work History

Since 2011, I have been on staff at Lenox Hill Hospital/Northwell Health in Manhattan, where I do clinical work and supervision in inpatient and outpatient settings, and in collaboration with medical specialties. Lenox Hill Hospital is also where I completed a lot of my clinical doctoral training.

  • Current titles include Program Director, Reproductive Mental Health and Director of Externship Training.

Prior to joining the LHH staff, I worked at other hospital and community settings. I completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuropsychology at Bellevue Hospital Center/NYU Langone Medical Center, in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department/TBI.

Other places of clinical training: Beth Israel Medical Center (NYC); Columbia Support Services/IOP (NYC); South Beach Psychiatric Center, Ft Hamilton.

I was a founding member of the Center for Attachment Research, mentored by Drs. Miriam and Howard Steele, at the New School for Social Research. I completed 5 years of psychoanalytic training at New York Psychoanalytic Institute in New York City

Currently, I am on faculty at The New School, where I teach Developmental Psychology and Attachment Across the Lifespan to undergraduate students. Previous courses taught include the Psychology of Religion and Child Assessment at the graduate level.

I am part of an ongoing study group headed by clinician-researcher Beatrice Beebe, PhD, whose groundbreaking work on communication informs all aspects of my work.

I lecture locally, nationally and internationally on research related to development, perinatal mental health, and training.

Education History

PhD in Clinical Psychology from The New School for Social Research, 2009

MA in Psychology from The New School for Social Research, 2003

BA(hons) in Psychoanalytic Theory and Literature from Trinity College, The University of Toronto, 2000

Specializations and Affiliations

  • Perinatal Mental Health Certified (PMH-C)

  • Member, American Society for Reproductive Medicine

  • Member, APA Division 39: Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

  • EMDR-trained — Member of EMDRIA

  • Member, Society for Psychotherapy Research

  • Board Member, Margaret S. Mahler Child Development Foundation