I was an actor first.
Being an artist is still the foundation of how I work. Theater was the place where I could express things I felt limited in expressing everywhere else. Through playing other people I found parts of myself, and other ways of being in the world.
Professionally, acting left me wanting something else. I took a job as a casting assistant, and the part everyone told me was tedious was the part I loved: open calls. All day, people of every kind walked into that room, poured out their most vulnerable selves for thirty-two bars of a song, and told me what they were hoping for.
That is when I understood what I actually wanted to do. I am most alive when I get to witness people, hold space while they explore, and collaborate on what to build next.
I still think in roles. The ones I play now are mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, caregiver, cheerleader and student. They are where I keep learning what it takes to hold a lot at once.
What working together is like
We start by getting to know each other. You will tell me what brought you here, how you grew up, how you imagine your life. I will listen, ask questions, and stay curious alongside you.
You are both the mystery and the detective.
We get to walk through your story together and make discoveries about how things were shaped.
The relationship gets built session by session, which is what makes it possible to go into the harder material later. I bring my whole self into the room, big laugh and all. I am not stoic or unaffected. I will give you room to have your own experience, and I will also tell you how parts of your story land on me, including what I notice in my own body while you are talking. That is a deliberate part of how I work, not an accident.
A book I think about
There is a children’s book I read to my kids called The Rabbit Listened. A child’s tower gets knocked down and they are devastated. One animal after another arrives to help. The bear says shout about it. The hen says let’s fix it. Then the rabbit comes and simply sits down beside the child, and in that company the child starts to imagine rebuilding.
I think about that book often. I will guide you, we will learn and stretch together, and I will also just be there with you through whatever you are in.
Who I’m probably not right for
If you are looking for a step-by-step manual, we are likely not a match. I won’t give you homework every week, and I won’t be solely focused on fixing the problem you walked in with. We build a steady foundation and set treatment goals together. I would rather tell you that early than three months in.
Training
MA in Drama Therapy, New York University. BFA, Rutgers University.
Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, New York State License LCAT 002144. Registered Drama Therapist.
Second-year couples training, FACTS program, Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy.
Clinical training on the inpatient psychiatric unit at Lenox Hill Hospital and in school-based mental health at Long Island City High School.
Published on the ENACT method in Drama Therapy Review (2019) and Current Approaches in Drama Therapy (2020).
Registered Yoga Teacher, 200 hours, and certified in children’s yoga.
Member of the North American Drama Therapy Association and the Women’s Mental Health Consortium.
Start with fifteen minutes.
A short call, no charge, and no obligation to book anything after it. Tell me roughly what is going on and I’ll tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it. You do not have to be ready. You just have to be curious.