What I’ve Learned about Psychic Change:

I believe having a deep, real, therapeutic relationship with a highly trained and devoted psychoanalytic clinician is an experience unlike any other and can help people overcome the most difficult of challenges of life. A therapeutic relationship is a cornerstone for facilitating a dynamic process that allows for a generative, deep inner and interpersonal exploration that promotes knowledge, creativity, trust, truth, love, and grit to overcome obstacles. This process can beget real internal changes, leading to external changes that allow someone to create a satisfying life one can be proud of and is in harmony with the unique human they are. My perspective is informed by the rich and varied experiences I have had as a clinician and what I have first-hand experience of that have helped me and my patients transform and live differently.

To do this type of work, it is imperative to meet at least once a week for individual psychotherapy; otherwise, there is too much time between appointments to go to any depth that is required for this level of work. In addition to psychotherapy, I am a highly trained, triple board-certified nurse practitioner and psychiatric prescriber, offering holistic medication management (by integrating lifestyle management, herbalism, nutrition, and functional medicine) and de-prescribing services so people live with the least medication possible or none at all. It should be explicitly known that I cannot in good conscience continue or newly prescribe anyone under any circumstances addictive/controlled substances such as stimulants (e.g., Adderall), pain medication (e.g., Lyrica, gabapentin), and sedatives/benzodiazepines (e.g., Ambien, Xanax, Valium, etc.). For issues that are outside my scope, expertise, and/or require a different level of care beyond an outpatient setting, I have a referral network of professionals, organizations, and resources.

As you may know from physical injuries, healing is not without pain and patience. Similarly, nothing worthwhile in life, especially change, comes without significant effort, time, frustration tolerance, and devotion. Respectively, I don’t believe that short-term therapies (e.g., strict behavioral and cognitive therapies) and solely taking medication help heal the root causes of psychic suffering. While these approaches may help you feel better short-term (or not), they are often pathologizing, reductionistic, and deny your own pain, leaving you right where you began or even worse off. Therefore, to have integrity, I only provide services that I believe are benevolent for most people long-term, which is individual and group psychotherapy. It is my belief that life is not without suffering and that enhancing the capacity to bear suffering, learning from suffering, and growing from suffering is a realistic path to living authentically, and paradoxically to live with more joy.

Often, people are fearful that without substances and/or tension-relieving behaviors (e.g. excessive social media/gaming, workaholism, overeating, compulsive sexual activities, drug use, etc.) they will be overwhelmed by their feelings of helplessness, suffering horribly. It is my experience that suffering is only unbearable when it is done alone. With help, feelings do not have to derail your life and are a source of truth and insight. Feelings are powerful messages from the soul and are to be respected and understood, but they can often be disturbing, confusing, disorienting, and extremely painful when not knowing how to accept and work with them in constructive, new ways. While feelings will not kill you, avoiding and repressing feelings while unconsciously repeating problematic behaviors in response to unpleasant feelings can collectively destroy your ability to truly live and understand yourself.

Together, patients often find that they have the necessary support to understand and effectively work with difficult feelings, overcome lifelong issues, and heal through our connection and trusting relationship. Respectively, one size does not fit all, and I integrate many modalities and tailor my approach to what is needed at the moment to help each individual. Often, I find that unprocessed trauma and engrained childhood experiences prevent people from thriving by staying stuck in problematic patterns that are largely unconscious and/or so engrained that they seem unable to change, so I primarily use psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches to unearth life-changing insight. Of note, I am an intellectually independent psychoanalytic provider and read everything, but am particularly fond of British Object Relations, Contemporary Freudian, Post-Kleinian, Intersectionality, and Intersubjective ideas and approaches along with mind/body practices, spiritual/metaphysical contemplation, and existential ideas if appropriate and desired by patients. It should be noted I will work with people from any background, orientation, and culture.

I have a physical practice location in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York in Canandaigua and am licensed and provide private, secure virtual treatment in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington State. While I appreciate the convenience and reach of virtual services, I also believe in the magic of in-person contact and highly recommend that I see all my patients in person at least once a year if possible.