Background

After working with children and their parents as a psychotherapist for over 10 years, I am now focusing on helping parents prevent the dynamics that can eventually result in an older child or adolescent exhibiting severe challenges and needing psychotherapy. I have learned that it is much easier and beneficial for both parent and child to develop from a very early age a way of engaging with one another that will protect against bigger challenges in the future. Thus, while I am still a licensed marriage and family therapist in California, I now work as a parenting coach and educator in order to prevent major challenges in the future.

Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, I spent 15 years in the corporate world in engineering and finance management. I earned a masters in counseling psychology (MA) from Santa Clara University, a masters in business administration (MBA) from the University of Notre Dame, a bachelors in mechanical engineering (BSME) from Iowa State University, and completed the Life Coaching Training from The Coaches Training Institute.

I am currently a PhD Candidate in Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies. My dissertation utilizes knowledge from the fields of attachment, genetics, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, addiction studies, creativity, sensitivity, and giftedness to develop a new conceptualization of boys that struggle the most – which I refer to as Non-Prescriptive - along with a parenting and education model designed to provide the support that these children need.