About Me

I have always been the person who loves to look at other people’s photos — all of them. I always find myself wanting to know why someone chose to go to a particular place, how they got there, who the people in the background are, and what was special. I have always been interested in people’s lives — what brought them to where they are, how they have negotiated challenges, and how they have found meaning and purpose.

These interests have led to me to two careers that I think go well together: psychotherapy and history. As a therapist and a historian, my work is about the unfolding of people’s lives. I move with equal zeal from listening to people in my consulting room to poring over the letters and diaries of people in the distant past. What engages me are people’s hopes, pleasures, fears, and frustrations as they navigate the environments in which they live, work, and play.

My clinical background is in social work, which means that I see helping you as an individual and addressing unjust systems as companion priorities.  I currently serve as my town‘s elected member of Connecticut‘s Region 1 Board of Education. I also serve on the Advisory Committee of Connecticut‘s Office of Behavioral Health Advocate, a legislative appointment intended to help broaden availability and access to mental and behavioral health services.

Over the course of my career, I have worked to help individuals better mould their own lives as well as to build social institutions that improve their life prospects.  Before becoming a psychotherapist, I worked at Chapin Hall, a public policy research organization focused on improving the welfare of children and families. I helped to found and lead two education non-profits focused on youth development and social/emotional learning.

I served as the founding editor of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society News, an electronic newsletter for the Chicago psychoanalytic community.  I enjoy writing, especially on subjects at the intersection of history, politics, and psychoanalysis. 

During a sabbatical, I completed a professional training program in French pastry and produced the documentary film, Kings of Pastry, about France’s oldest and most illustrious pastry competition.  The only thing outside of work that I love more than being with my grandchildren is creating French pastries and hand-dipped chocolates.