I come to this work through years of lived, relational, and community-based practice with people navigating intense emotional and psychological experiences.

 

Much of what I offer grew out of a simple realization: many of the ways we’re taught to understand “mental illness” don’t actually reflect how people heal, survive, or make meaning together.

Over twelve years with the Icarus Project, I was immersed in peer-to-peer support with people who shared experiences often labeled as bipolar, psychotic, or disordered. What I learned there was less about diagnosis and more about resilience, creativity, and the importance of not being alone. I saw again and again how the language of disease and dysfunction can obscure the intelligence of our responses to painful, overwhelming, or unjust circumstances.

Through that work, I developed ways of understanding and engaging with different expressions of madness that don’t rely on fear or control. While psychiatric medication can be helpful for some people at some times, I’ve learned that there are many paths to stability and healing. One of the most important is knowing there are others who understand what you’re going through and are willing to stay with you.

Along the way, I’ve studied and practiced Internal Family Systems, generative somatics, and Open Dialogue, alongside long-term meditation and yoga practice. I also grow gardens, save seeds, and spend time learning from the natural world. I’ve kept a written journal for over thirty years and recorded my dreams most mornings. These practices support my own grounding and continue to shape how I work with others.

I received my MSW from Hunter College in 2016 and spent several years working in the public mental health system in New York City with young people recently diagnosed with psychotic disorders. Working inside that system reinforced my belief that we need more imaginative, relational, and humane ways of responding to extreme emotional experiences. It also deepened my conviction that people with lived experience of madness have an essential role to play in shaping how care is offered.

This practice is part of that larger effort: to support people in making sense of their inner lives, strengthening their relationships, and building forms of care that honor dignity, agency, and collective wisdom.

If you’re curious about how I work, what this is and isn’t, or whether it might be a good fit, the FAQs below are a good place to start.

General FAQs

  • I work with people who experience intensity, sensitivity, inner conflict, or periods of disorientation, and who want a way of relating to those experiences that isn’t based on fear, diagnosis, or control. Some people come in crisis, others in quieter moments of transition or rebuilding.

  • This work is non-clinical and therapy-adjacent. It’s grounded in Internal Family Systems, peer frameworks, and relational practice, and focuses on meaning, capacity, and connection rather than treatment or diagnosis.

  • People come with many things: anxiety, depression, psychosis, bipolar experiences, trauma, burnout, grief, spiritual questions, relationship struggles, or a sense of being lost or overwhelmed. You don’t need a clear label or a coherent story to begin.

  • That concern is welcome here. This work emphasizes grounding, pacing, and clear limits. We move slowly and with consent, and we prioritize safety and orientation over intensity or catharsis.

  • I don’t work from a diagnostic framework. If diagnoses are part of your history, we can talk about what they’ve meant to you and how they’ve shaped your life. The focus is on your experience, not a category.

  • Sessions are conversational and responsive. We often start with what’s most alive for you, then slow things down, notice what’s happening in the body or between parts, or work with a T-MAP to clarify supports and patterns. There’s no single right way to do this.

  • That’s very common. You don’t need to arrive with a plan or a goal. We can take time to listen and figure out together what would be most supportive right now.

  • Fit isn’t something you have to decide alone or in advance. We can start with a conversation and see how it feels. You’re allowed to take your time.

FAQs for Parents of Adult Children in Crisis

  • Yes. Many parents come to my practice feeling scared, overwhelmed, and unsure what to do next. You don’t need to have the right language, a clear plan, or agreement within your family. This work starts with where you are and helps you slow things down enough to think and feel more clearly.

  • Yes. I often work with parents on their own. You can’t control another adult’s choices, but you can work with how you respond, how you stay grounded, and how you remain in relationship without escalating fear or conflict. Changes in the system often begin with one person.

  • That’s something I’m very familiar with. These experiences can be frightening for everyone involved. The focus here is not on forcing insight or compliance, but on understanding what’s happening, reducing escalation, and supporting steadier ways of responding over time.

  • This bind is very real. Many parents feel trapped between options that all seem harmful. This work is about expanding the space between panic and coercion, and helping you think through choices with more clarity, support, and care. There are often more options than it first appears.

  • No. I don’t give directives or take over decision-making. Instead, we think together. My role is to help you slow things down, understand the dynamics at play, and strengthen your capacity to respond in ways that align with your values and the realities you’re facing.

  • This work is informed by family systems therapy and Open Dialogue, but it doesn’t require everyone to always be in the room or to agree on a shared story. Sometimes the work is with parents only. Sometimes it includes partners, siblings, or the adult child when that feels appropriate and possible.

  • That’s more common than not. This work doesn’t assume a harmonious family or a clean slate. We work with what’s there, including anger, grief, blame, and exhaustion, and focus on what might help reduce harm and increase understanding going forward.

  • No. I don’t have a single agenda. We can talk honestly about risks, fears, past experiences, and what different options might mean. The goal is to help you make more informed, grounded decisions rather than acting from panic or pressure.

  • Yes. Many parents carry enormous shame, guilt, and self-blame. This work makes space for those feelings without reinforcing them. Caring deeply in an impossible system does not mean you’ve failed.

  • We start with a conversation. You don’t need to know exactly what you’re looking for. We’ll take time to understand what’s happening in your family, what you’ve tried, and what feels most urgent right now, and then decide together what makes sense.