Psychotherapy
You may be thoughtful, capable, and accustomed to functioning well even when you do not feel well. Distress may show up as anxiety, perfectionism, self-criticism, or feeling overwhelmed. Or, it may look more like irritability, withdrawal, or a toughness that hides how much is happening underneath. I offer warm, collaborative psychotherapy that combines insight with practical change. Together, we work to understand what has shaped you, change patterns that are getting in your way, and help you live with greater freedom without treating essential parts of you as problems to be fixed. I especially enjoy working with parents who are trying to stay grounded when a child is having a difficult time. When we are worried about someone we love, it is easy for fear to take over and shape how we respond. Our work can help you sort through your own reactions so you have more room to listen, think clearly, and respond in a way that reflects the kind of parent you want to be. I bring years of experience in school communities, including boarding schools, where I have supported students and families through counseling and administrative roles. I know how much possibility and pressure can coexist in achievement-focused environments. For adolescents, young adults, and their families, questions about school, success, independence, and the future can quickly become tied to identity and self-worth. That background gives me a useful perspective when working with people navigating those transitions. I also have a particular interest in working with adults navigating cancer diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and the emotional aftermath. Cancer can affect far more than the body. It may alter your sense of safety, your relationship with your body, your family and work roles, and your assumptions about the future. My own experience with breast cancer has deepened my respect for these questions without leading me to assume that anyone else's experience is the same as mine. I provide telehealth psychotherapy to adults in Massachusetts, Colorado, and participating PSYPACT states.
- •Understand the patterns connecting your past and present without becoming trapped in the past.
- •Recognize emotions without being overtaken by them or needing to make them disappear.
- •Respond to distress with greater steadiness, flexibility, and self-compassion.
- •Distinguish your own needs and values from other people's expectations.
- •Reduce avoidance and approach situations, relationships, and choices that matter to you.
- •Become less governed by perfectionism, self-criticism, fear, or compulsive patterns.
- •Build greater trust in your perceptions, choices, and capacity to cope.
- •Accept what cannot or need not be changed while changing what is getting in the way.
Psychological Assessment
When symptoms overlap, previous diagnoses do not fully explain your experience, or treatment has not produced the expected change, a comprehensive assessment can bring greater clarity. I specialize in complex diagnostic questions, second opinions, and the careful evaluation of personality functioning. By integrating your history, test findings, existing records, and the context in which your difficulties have developed, we can build a more coherent understanding of what is happening and use that understanding to guide what comes next. The purpose is not simply to assign another label. It is to develop a thoughtful, integrated understanding of what you are experiencing and translate that understanding into useful recommendations. I am especially interested in the questions that do not fit neatly into a single category and in understanding a person in context rather than reducing them to a diagnosis. Questions about personality can feel especially personal. A personality-disorder diagnosis may be experienced as stigmatizing, overly broad, or as though it defines the whole person. My approach is to consider personality functioning with care, context, and respect. The purpose is not to reduce you to a collection of traits. It is to understand which patterns are adaptive, which create distress or interfere with relationships, and what kinds of treatment may be most helpful. My independent assessment practice does not provide comprehensive neuropsychological, cognitive, or psychoeducational evaluations for questions specific to autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, learning disabilities, cognitive functioning, or related neurodevelopmental concerns. For these evaluations, I refer to Pioneer Valley Psychological Assessment, the group practice where I also work part-time as an assessing psychologist. If you are uncertain which type of assessment you need, an initial consultation can help determine the most appropriate next step.
- •You have received multiple or conflicting diagnoses.
- •Your symptoms do not fit neatly within a single diagnostic category.
- •Previous treatment has not helped as much as expected.
- •Your current diagnosis does not seem to explain the full picture.
- •You or your clinician would like a second opinion.
- •Mood, anxiety, trauma, relationship, and personality-related symptoms appear to overlap.
- •You want to understand recurring emotional, interpersonal, or behavioral patterns.
- •There is a question about whether personality pathology is present.
- •You have been given a personality-disorder diagnosis and want a careful, independent evaluation.
- •Your therapist or prescriber needs greater diagnostic clarity to guide treatment.
- •You want recommendations grounded in a more comprehensive understanding of your strengths, vulnerabilities, history, and current functioning.
Mental Health Consultation and Navigation
Sometimes the hardest part of seeking mental health care is knowing what kind of help to pursue. You may be trying to find the right therapist, understand conflicting recommendations, evaluate a treatment program, support a young adult, or decide what to do when therapy is not working. Mental Health Consultation and Navigation offers experienced, compassionate guidance through these decisions. Together, we make sense of what you have already tried, clarify what may be needed, and translate that understanding into a practical path forward that fits your needs, values, and circumstances. My role is not to make decisions for you or to position myself as having every answer. It is to help you understand the situation more clearly, ask informed questions, evaluate your options, and choose a path that fits your needs, values, and circumstances. I especially enjoy helping parents think about how to support a struggling adolescent or young adult while managing their own fear, urgency, and protectiveness. Sometimes the most useful work is not finding a perfect answer, but becoming clearer about what is happening, which decisions actually need to be made, and how to stay connected without taking over decisions that increasingly belong to the young person. Mental Health Consultation and Navigation is a consultation and decision-support service. It is not psychotherapy, crisis care, or ongoing case management, and it does not establish continuous clinical coverage while you are searching for treatment. If you need immediate help or cannot remain safe, call 911, call or text 988, or go to the nearest emergency department.
- •You do not know what kind of mental health professional or treatment to pursue.
- •Therapy does not appear to be helping, and you are unsure whether to continue or make a change.
- •You are trying to choose among therapists, evaluators, treatment programs, or levels of care.
- •You have received conflicting diagnoses or recommendations.
- •You need help understanding a psychological assessment and putting its recommendations into action.
- •You or a family member are transitioning from a hospital, residential program, intensive outpatient program, or college leave.
- •Several professionals are involved, but the overall plan feels fragmented.
- •You or your young adult are making college decisions and want guidance that takes mental health, developmental needs, and growing independence into account.
- •You are helping a young adult find appropriate care while respecting their growing independence.
- •You are a treating clinician seeking consultation about a complex referral, treatment transition, or appropriate level of care.