I can’t imagine what my clinical practice would be like if it wasn’t for the excellent supervision I received as a graduate student, then as an associate. I continued to be supervised for a few years as I made my way through various specializations such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy and substance treatment.  I willingly returned to supervise status three years ago to develop another clinical practice guided by an excellent supervisor.

At the beginning: I knew I was getting something intensely different from many of my peers when I was in my first placement.  What I didn’t know was that my LCSW field supervisor was a Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Supervisor of Supervisors who had trained with Jay Haley, founder of Strategic Family Therapy.  I simply had a gut feeling that what she was doing was something I wanted to learn to do. I wanted to apply that rigorous honesty, self-appraisal and scientist-practitioner approach to the technical means of doing psychotherapy and clinical supervision.  As I grew in applying those technical means I was also encouraged to develop the conscious use of self for the benefit of patients and supervisees.

So I invite you into this world where we can learn together what you can do and develop into a clinician who has far more skill sets when you leave supervision.  There are many paths in this journey and some of them will be well-known to me. When they aren’t, we can arrange for you to get those experiences.  I also keep an eye out for what growth you might experience as a leader and researcher and hope to be a good referral and resource for you. As I say, your presence keeps me sharper and more able than if I was practicing on my own: it’s such a pleasant opportunity to excel together. 

Over twenty-seven years I have worked many aspects of our field, in different levels of care, in privately owned practices as well as public mental health, with adults and families.  The past six years I have been employed at a federally qualified health center / primary care medical practice as the behavioral health specialist working with doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, and registered dieticians caring for medically and psycho-socially complex patients.  I am now their Director of Behavioral Health.

I also work as the clinical director of Genesis DWI Services and as a consulting supervisor for staff at two other behavioral health agencies.