Education
I underwent training as a clinical social worker at the University of Maryland, where I had previously completed undergraduate degrees in mathematics and Spanish literature (having needed something from both the arts and sciences in order to start making sense of the world). Prior to finding my path as a professional, my wandering led me to complete a master's degree in philosophy at St. John's College in Annapolis, which was a remarkable and indulgent experience of getting to know more fully what I think about who we are and what we’re doing here. This exploration led me to the conclusion that I want to work as a therapist. Since I still didn’t know much about what that meant, I chose to do some post-graduate clinical training at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, where I learned some of the history of this field and how to listen more deeply.
Background
My path was also shaped in large part by my own experience in therapy. Other clues pointing me in this direction include my lifelong participation in the martial arts (as a student and instructor), as well as my experience leading discussion groups with prison inmates. These activities helped me realize that I bring myself much more fully to work with people than I do to work with data, which had been my path for a time. I love my work and am very grateful to have found my way here.
Ongoing Learning
In recent years, my own healing journey has been profoundly impacted by plant medicine, experiential therapies, and breathwork. I continue to learn from these sources of wisdom, and others, as I work through the blockages (personal and cultural) that get in the way of my being truly connected to my innermost self.
“The effort to solve living as a problem is impossible … The process of facing the dialectic life … is endless, irresolvable, and poorly understood … Security alone equals slavery. Exploration alone equals danger and death. The flux is always exciting but never an answer, only a courage-inducing impetus to more of the individual’s right to decide on the next move and to discover more and dare more.”