About me &

my background


EDUCATION

  • BA in Psychology - University of California, Berkeley

  • MA in Clinical Psychology - California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego

  • PhD in Clinical Psychology - California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego

  • Post-Graduate Diploma - International Society of Existential Analysis & Logotherapy, Vienna Austria (GLE-International)

I have 20 years of clinical experience and am a licensed Psychologist in both Washington and Oregon. In addition, I have been a university professor at several universities and currently serve as the training director at the Center for Existential Analysis and Logotherapy (CEAL). I am one of the founding members of the Existential Analysis Society of Canada and have served as a Board member of the Existential-Humanistic NorthWest, a non-profit professional organization in Portland, Oregon.

After having my traditional private practice office for many years, I found myself spending more time traveling throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America giving training seminars, speaking at conferences and teaching professional training courses on existential psychology and psychotherapy. This is when I decided to move my practice fully online so that I can continue to provide services to my clients regardless of where I am. Currently, I split my time between the United States and Brazil.

My focus is on the unique perspective the person has on their issues and the suffering they may be experiencing. I believe that all of our experiences, whether they are positive or negative, tell us something important about ourselves and our life. As an existentially oriented therapist, I find it important and helpful to slow down and take a closer look at the way in which you are experiencing your life in order to discover perspectives, resources, and tools that may help you to better deal with life's challenges.

As a therapist, I strive to not only help you solve your current problems, but to help you become a solver of problems for yourself throughout your life by developing a deeper relationship to yourself and your world..

My approach to therapy

Psychotherapy is a way to heal, it is a process. This therapeutic process is about the person and the person’s world (with all of their capabilities and deficits being the theme of the work). I believe that therapy should be about helping the person to develop their faculties, their capabilities, and their capacities. In therapy, we look at where you are blocked, hindered, hurt, and where you need to be strengthened through support, understanding and compassion.

People are complex; we are physical, social, psychological and spiritual beings. Within therapy I use the wisdom learned from various therapeutic strategies. However, my primary orientation stems from Existential Analysis (EA).

Existential Analysis is a unique orientation to therapy that uses a “phenomenological” approach. Phenomenological psychotherapy is an approach to therapy that focuses on understanding and exploring a person's subjective experiences and perceptions of the world. It places emphasis on the individual's unique viewpoint and seeks to uncover the underlying meanings and significance behind their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

In simple terms, phenomenologically oriented psychotherapy is about helping people understand themselves better by paying close attention to their personal experiences. It involves actively listening to their stories and exploring their inner world without judgment or assumptions. Through this process, we work together to uncover patterns, themes, and connections within your experiences. The goal is to help you gain insight into your own thoughts and feelings, leading to a greater sense of self-awareness and understanding. By exploring these subjective experiences, individuals can often gain clarity, develop new perspectives, and make positive and meaningful changes in their lives.

Existential Analysis has deep roots in existential philosophy and combines a great respect for an individual’s life choices with therapeutically effective techniques and methods. Its phenomenological approach allows the therapist to take all possible aspects of an individual’s experience into consideration and helps the client to slow down and take a closer look at how they are really experiencing their life and how they would like it to be different.

The main goal of Existential Analysis is to see a person in their core essence and to assist them to find meaning and fulfillment by living in harmony with their values.

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