MY BACKGROUND

Certified Jungian Analyst and Licensed Psychologist in Oakland

I am a Certified Jungian Analyst and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (CA License #PSY13691), and analyst member of the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. I am also a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist and Music Therapist, and helped co-found the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA). 

I offer depth-oriented psychotherapy and Jungian analysis to individual adults and couples seeking meaningful transformation. My work is rooted in analytical psychology and shaped by a lifelong commitment to the healing power of creativity, embodiment, and the symbolic life. I bring a creative and integrative approach to psychological care blending symbolic exploration with clinical insight to support healing at the levels of psyche, body, and soul.

In addition to my clinical practice, I teach and consult within the analytic training program at the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. I also offer clinical consultation in my private practice for licensed therapists who wish to deepen their work through a Jungian and depth-psychological perspective.

Education & Clinical Training 

My clinical training began in the mid-1980s in psychiatric and medical settings including UCSF Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, the Center for Special Problems, and Private Practice Internships. These diverse environments deepened my understanding of the psychological roots of suffering and the pathways toward healing. 

During my music therapy internship at UCSF Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, I trained in an integrative approach to arts-based healing that included music, visual art, movement, and symbolic expression. This formative period shaped my understanding of psychotherapy as a living, creative process rather than solely a verbal one. 

I also trained in Authentic Movement with Janet Adler, a contemplative and relational movement practice that continues to deeply inform my work. This ongoing discipline has expanded my understanding of embodied awareness, inner listening, and the ways psychological experience is expressed through the body.

Recognizing the importance of a strong psychological foundation, I pursued graduate training and received my Master’s and then my PhD at the The California Institute of Integral Psychology in Clinical Psychology. My doctoral dissertation, Creative Blocks: A Self-Psychological Perspective (1992), explored how early developmental deficits can inhibit creative expression. This research continues to shape my therapeutic approach, helping clients reconnect with their innate vitality and purpose. 

I was licensed as a Clinical Psychologist in 1994. Eleven years later, I entered analytic training and became a Certified Jungian Analyst in 2011. My work has long been guided by a profound interest in the symbolic and spiritual dimension of human experience—dreams, imagination, creativity, and the unfolding of the unconscious. Jungian analysis offers a framework for exploring the deeper layers of the psyche, including the relational interplay of body, spirit, and soul. My analytic training allowed me to engage more fully with the process of individuation—the lifelong movement toward psychological wholeness and authentic selfhood—which remains central to my clinical practice today. 

My approach is rooted in Jungian psychology and informed by training in: 

• Psychoanalytic & Relational Psychotherapy
• Transpersonal & Somatic Psychology
• Mindfulness & Somatic Experiencing
• Sandplay Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy & Authentic Movement

My approach begins with co-creating a safe, attuned therapeutic space where you can explore what is most essential for your healing and personal growth. I am deeply empathic, engaged, and interactive in my work, recognizing that life’s challenges can sometimes obscure our path toward becoming who we are meant to be. Drawing from Jungian analysis, depth-oriented psychotherapy, and expressive and somatic practices, I honor the transformative power of creativity, embodiment, and symbolic experience to help you connect with your vitality, meaning, and sense of purpose. I meet you where you are, and in addition to thoughtful dialogue, our work may include attention to dreams, active imagination, expressive arts, and body-based awareness and practice. 

It is both my passion and my calling to accompany you on your unique journey of healing and individuation.

Credentials & Professional Affiliations

Licensure , Registration & Certification:

• Certified Jungian Analyst, 2011
• PhD in Clinical Psychology, 1992
• MA in Clinical Psychology,1988
• BA in Sociology, 1979
• AA in Music, 1986
• Postgraduate Certification in Music Therapy, 1984-1986

Professional Memberships:

• Analyst Member, C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco
• Member, International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP)
• Co-Founder & Member, International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA)
• Member, American Psychological Association (APA)