Professional Training and Experience


Boston University.  Photo by Kelvin Ma, Boston Herald.
Boston University. Photo by Kelvin Ma, Boston Herald.

I am a licensed psychologist in the State of Pennsylvania (License Number: PS017255).  I earned my doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Boston University in January, 2012.  From August, 2010 – August, 2012, I completed my pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Pennsylvania.  I specialize in individual, group, and couples therapy for adults. I am currently a psychoanalytic candidate at the Institute for Relational Psychoanalysis of Philadelphia.

 

I was trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, including the Eating Disorders Program, at Boston University, and at the General Mental Health and Mood Disorders Clinics at the VA-Boston Medical Center in Jamaica Plain.  I have provided individual CBT to clients with panic disorder, specific phobias, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and eating disorders.  I have co-led CBT groups for social phobia, depression, and anger management.  My education at Boston University also included training in mindfulness-based approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and in David Barlow’s Unified Protocol for Emotional Disorders.  

 

In addition, I received training in relational psychodynamic therapy at the Danielsen Institute at Boston University, where I participated in specialized training in the intersection of religion and spirituality with psychological health.  I received further supervision in psychodynamic and relational-cultural therapy at MIT Student Mental Health and Counseling and at Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Pennsylvania.   In addition to my CBT group experience, I have co-led supportive therapy groups and interpersonal process groups at the Danielsen Institute, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.  My training in culturally responsive provision of psychological services has included coursework, seminars, and supervision focusing on racial, ethnic, and other cultural differences; LGBTQ issues; microaggressions; social justice in counseling; and attending to power and privilege in the therapy relationship.  I have worked with adults aged 17 – 84 years, from a wide range of racial, ethnic, and SES backgrounds.  I have extensive experience working with university populations, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, international students, non-traditional students, and LGBTQ students.  I was trained in provision of couples’ therapy at University of Pennsylvania and I work with heterosexual and LGBTQ couples.

  

I have a wide range of assessment experience, including comprehensive psychosocial and psychiatric diagnostic evaluations; assessment of intellectual ability and academic achievement, personality and neuropsychological testing; and comprehensive assessments of ADHD and learning disorders.  My graduate assessment training took place at the Psychological Services Center and the Danielsen Institute at Boston University.  As a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, I completed an advanced training rotation at the Department of Psychology’s assessment training clinic, providing comprehensive cognitive and personality testing and psychiatric assessment for clients referred by community mental health providers.  At this time I do not offer psychological testing services in my private practice, but I conduct a thorough biopsychosocial diagnostic interview before beginning treatment.