I completed undergraduate training in Biology at Swarthmore College and then went on to medical school at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), followed by residency training with the County of San Mateo’s public psychiatry program just south of San Francisco. My residency training afforded me exceptional exposure to the most challenging cases, since I was working with a broad range of patents all the way to the most unwell. I have completed over 8,000 hours of work in a psychiatric emergency room setting, where I see patients in highly complex situations. I have been seeing patients in the outpatient setting since 2016, and started private practice in 2019.

If you’re looking for a psychiatrist, there’s a good chance you have an interest in using medication to help you, or at least you’re open to it. I share that same interest and openness, and frequently recommend the use of medication when appropriate. However, we will ideally not rely on medication exclusively. There is far too much to be gained from combining medication with non-medication approaches that are further defined below.

My foundational perspective is most resonant with what is called, “person-centered therapy,” which “operates on the humanistic belief that the [patient] is inherently driven toward and has the capacity for growth and self-actualization; it relies on this force for therapeutic change. The role of the [therapist] is to provide a nonjudgmental environment conducive to honest self-exploration.“†

From this starting point, we would likely incorporate elements of mindfulness to understand how it can help you achieve more “presence” in your life and thus decrease stress, negative self-thoughts, or anxiety. Since we are mammals who require meaningful human connection to flourish, we may explore how your early relationships impact you in the present through the lens of Attachment Theory. I broadly incorporate a “trauma-informed” approach, which means acknowledging the ways in which certain impactful experiences may be echoing into the present without our even knowing, and doing so at whatever pace is right for you (if at all). “Somatics” means using moment-to-moment awareness of bodily sensations to learn to identify and then act on the wisdom of your emotions. And finally, I find some of the core principles of the Ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism to be very helpful (note: Stoicism does NOT mean not feeling your feelings…it’s a coherent, non-religious, 2300-year-old theory for how to achieve happiness (or what they would have called a “free-flowing life”).