About Me

Experience . . . ahhh. How to talk about experience? Life experience, work experience, learning experience--they are all so intermingled. I'll try to give a brief overview: I am a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) with over twenty years of experience working with individuals, couples, and families. Initially trained in Clinical Psychology (B.S-1985; M.A.-1987), I later became interested in systemic family therapy (Ph.D.-2000) and a relational approach to working with clients. Currently, I see clients in my full time private practice, and I teach part time in the School of Social Work at St. Louis University. Previously, I was a full time professor at SLU; however, I left that position when I moved away: "I've Been Everywhere, Man"--like the famous Johnny Cash song--Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Shanghai (CHINA), San Francisco, and Bozeman (MT). Through all of these moves, I’ve taught and maintained a practice. “Coming home again,”  I’ve returned to St. Louis where I plan to stay.

Partly because of my many transitions and moves,  I have a deep appreciation and respect for diverse people and experiences. I've met and worked with amazing people—people from different cultures, religions, and social situations. I've heard heart-inspiring and heart-breaking stories and have been humbled and honored to be part of helping others seeking change. I'm interested in working with clients challenged by all sorts of issues--couples issues, parenting, divorce and remarriage, LGBT specific issues, life-cycle transitions, infidelity, adoption, infertility, illness, end-of-life, and care-taking struggles. Many years ago, born partly out of my own experiences with loss, I began working more specifically with the terminally ill and their families (see a few attached articles)—work that I continue today. While the majority of clients come to my office, I do see a number of clients/families in their home/care facility.

In addition to my clinical work, I am a Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. This means that I am approved to supervise beginning therapists--and, in fact, training beginning therapists is something I love most of all and why I continue teaching at St. Louis University! I'm licensed in Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota and am a Board Member and the Education Chair for the Missouri Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.