Training / Experience

Training:

I attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon and the Cluster School of Expressive Arts at Sonoma State College to obtain my B.A. in 1973. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1977, at a time when that was the only accredited program in the country that emphasized clinical practice over research.

I completed 2 years of internship at Veterans Administration hospitals in Reno and Palo Alto, and spent a post-doctoral year at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, home to systems-oriented family therapy.

My doctoral thesis was the development of a method for evaluating couple communication, using structured, improvised roleplays.

I continue to actively pursue opportunities for professional development. These have included workshops and courses on subjects including:

  • AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy)
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), based on attachment theory and the work of Sue Johnson.
  • Hand in Hand Parenting: Parenting by Connection, with Patty Wipfler
  • Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
  • Shame
  • Guided Imagery
  • Couples Therapy
  • Family Therapy
  • Women's Growth in Connection
  • Death and Dying
  • Breaking the Cycle of Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Adult Children of Alcoholics
  • Substance Abuse
  • Survivors of Sexual Abuse
  • Infertility
  • Eating Disorders
  • Sex Therapy
  • Brain Science
  • The Science of Willpower
  • The Science of Compassion

Experience:

I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and have been in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1978.

In 1979, I was responsible for developing the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park, and provided counseling and organizational consulting there until 1985. I was involved in the initial planning for an EAP at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and have provided counseling and consulting services for many other organizations, including PG&E, Apple Computer, Alza Pharmaceutical Corporation, Speck Product Design, and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department.

I have offered critical incident consulting and counseling services to police officers and fire fighters through the Occupational Health Service, to employee victims of bank robberies at First Interstate Bank, to airline employees after airline disasters at U.S. Air, and for Suicide Autopsy at the Reno Police Department.

I have taught and given workshops on relationship and communication skills to local community organizations too numerous to name, including the Rape Crisis Center, La Leche League, Parents Without Partners, Kara (hospice center), and the Stanford Business School.

I have worked in a wide variety of settings, including the California Youth Authority, Crisis Call and Suicide Prevention Center, Adolescent Drug Treatment Center, and the Psychological Services Center at the University of Nevada, Reno.

I've taught college courses in the Psychology of Adjustment and Psychological Principals of Counseling, given lectures and workshops on Sex Education, Infertility, and Care of the Terminally Ill, and run a variety of groups for Adolescents, Women, Couples, and general groups for developing interpersonal skills.

I also put my skills in communication and relationship dynamics to use as co-founder and General Manager of OMIX, Inc., a startup company that developed complex, high end websites for other companies from 1994 through 2001. Our company was awarded the first ever Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award from the California State Psychological Association in 2001.