During my undergraduate studies in psychology, I was introduced to forensic psychology through a course I took while studying abroad in London. I was fascinated by the intersection of psychology and the law, but even more by the challenge of understanding what leads people to commit acts of violence. On a deeper level, I think I was trying to comprehend human darkness. I was drawn to looking beyond someone's behavior to understand the person behind it.

That interest led me to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where I earned my doctorate in Clinical Forensic Psychology. My training took me into prisons, jails, and state hospitals, where I worked with people experiencing severe mental illness and conducted comprehensive psychological assessments, including fitness-to-stand-trial and malingering evaluations.

How I came to this work.

ABOUT

My interest in depth psychotherapy began during my internship at San Quentin State Prison and developed further during my years as a staff psychologist at California Medical Facility. I later served as the staff psychologist for death row at Central Prison in North Carolina.

It was the therapeutic relationships I developed in these environments that had the greatest impact on me. Although my training had emphasized more structured, manualized approaches to treatment, I found myself increasingly drawn to working with my clients in a deeper, more experiential way. I wanted to make room for the complexity of their suffering, the circumstances that had shaped their lives, and the questions they faced about how to live within very real limits on their freedom.

It became clear to me that my clients needed more than symptom reduction or an intellectual understanding of themselves. They needed opportunities to experience themselves, their relationships, and the world differently. Humanistic-existential psychotherapy offered a way to do this, helping clients engage more fully with their experiences and recognize the agency they still had in how they responded to their circumstances.

One particularly meaningful experience was a two-year depth therapy group I co-facilitated with my friend and colleague, Dr. Stephanie Golinveaux. The experience affected us both so deeply that we later conducted video interviews with group members following their parole or release from prison. Their reflections became the foundation of a presentation we shared at the World Congress of Existential Therapy in Athens, Greece, and in Denver, Colorado. The experience continues to shape how I understand the possibilities of psychotherapy and the importance of the therapeutic relationship.

Although I deeply valued my work with incarcerated people, I increasingly felt constrained by the prison environment and the limits it imposed on the kind of therapeutic work I wanted to do. Ultimately, I decided to leave forensic settings and pursue private practice, where I could devote myself more fully to depth-oriented, relational psychotherapy.

My development as a therapist continues to be an important part of my work. I regularly consult with a group of colleagues who challenge me to keep growing, both personally and professionally. I also receive mentorship from Dr. Orah Krug, a prominent leader in humanistic-existential psychotherapy, whose guidance has been an important part of my continued development.

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Clinical Forensic Psychology
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 2016

Bachelor of Science in Psychology
Syracuse University, 2011

Education