FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What Is a psychologist?
A psychologist is a doctoral-level mental health professional trained in the science of human behavior, emotion, and development. Psychologists complete extensive graduate education and supervised clinical training, equipping them to assess, diagnose, and treat a wide range of emotional and psychological concerns.
Beyond symptom relief, psychologists are trained to understand the deeper patterns that shape how we think, feel, and relate—to ourselves and to others. While some approaches focus primarily on short-term problem-solving, others—including depth-oriented and Jungian perspectives—attend to the unconscious dimensions of experience, personal meaning, and the lifelong process of growth and individuation.
Unlike psychiatrists, psychologists do not prescribe medication. Instead, the work centers on psychotherapy—providing a thoughtful, confidential space for insight, healing, and meaningful change.
In my work as a psychologist and Jungian analyst, I include practical, skills-based strategies to manage present-day challenges, alongside reflective and exploratory work that supports lasting transformation.
What is a Jungian Analyst?
A Jungian Analyst is a specially trained psychotherapist who practices analytical psychology, the depth-oriented approach to understanding the psyche developed by Carl Gustav Jung. Jungian analysis focuses not only on symptom relief, but on the deeper process of psychological growth, self-understanding, and the unfolding of one’s unique potential.
Jungian analysts are trained to work with both conscious experience and the unconscious dimensions of the psyche. This includes attention to dreams, symbols, imagination, emotional patterns, creativity, and life transitions. Rather than viewing distress only as something to eliminate, Jungian analysis understands many psychological struggles as meaningful signals from the psyche—expressions that can guide transformation and development when explored with care and depth.
A central aim of Jungian analysis is individuation—the lifelong process of becoming more fully oneself through the integration of different aspects of the personality. The analytic relationship provides a reflective and collaborative space in which unconscious material can emerge, be understood, and gradually integrated into conscious life.
Jungian analysts undergo extensive post-graduate training beyond licensure as mental health professionals. This typically includes many years of clinical study, supervision, and their own personal analysis within an accredited Jungian training institute. This depth of preparation supports their ability to accompany individuals through complex inner processes with psychological insight, symbolic understanding, and respect for the unique meaning of each person’s experience.
In essence, a Jungian analyst helps individuals engage the deeper layers of the psyche in order to foster healing, meaning, creativity, and a more authentic relationship to self and life.
What is Jungian Psychology?
Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of analytical psychology, one of the most influential schools of depth psychology. His work profoundly shaped modern understandings of the psyche, the symbolic life, and the human search for meaning.
Originally a close collaborator of Sigmund Freud, Jung later developed his own theoretical framework, expanding psychology beyond personal biography to include the deeper, universal layers of the human psyche. Central to his thought is the concept of the collective unconscious—a shared psychological inheritance expressed through archetypes, myths, dreams, and symbolic images found across cultures and throughout history.
Jung viewed psychological development as a lifelong process he called individuation—the unfolding of one’s authentic self through the integration of conscious and unconscious elements of the personality. He believed that dreams, imagination, creativity, and symbolic experience are essential pathways through which the psyche communicates and transforms.
His work spans psychology, spirituality, religion, alchemy, mythology, and the arts. Jung explored how inner experience shapes meaning, emphasizing that psychological healing involves not only symptom relief but also the cultivation of wholeness, vitality, and connection to the deeper layers of the self.
Today, Jung’s ideas continue to influence psychotherapy, counseling, the arts, and cultural studies worldwide. His vision of the psyche as inherently symbolic, creative, and oriented toward growth remains foundational to contemporary depth-oriented psychotherapy and Jungian analysis.
What is Sandplay?
Sandplay was not described in the other section of my website so I want to provide a brief description of the practice here.
Sandplay is a therapeutic practice that uses a tray of sand and small symbolic figures. Clients create scenes in the sand that express thoughts and feelings that can be difficult to put into words. The images and symbols that emerge often reflect inner struggles, strengths, and movement toward healing.
Sandplay was developed by Dora Kalff, a Swiss analyst who trained with Carl Jung at the Jung Institute in Zurich. She created a method of symbolic play using a shallow tray of sand and a collection of miniature figures—people, animals, mythic figures, houses, trees, stones, and other objects—allowing a person to create a world in the sand. This practice can be used with both children and adults.
In my work with sandplay, I see the process as similar to active imagination and may use it depending on your interests, inclinations, and therapeutic goals.
Other Information
Please see contact page for cost, insurance and other practical questions.