Experience

Much of my early clinical work was conducted with college students at a large university's behavioral health clinic, followed by working at an outpatient clinic of a local hospital seeing children, adolescents, and their families. I have also worked as a clinician in residential treatment settings, a therapeutic day school, at a large non-profit, and as an administrator and teacher at a graduate school. As a licensed Clinical Psychologist, I worked several years at a large outpatient group practice serving the Chicago area across four offices affiliated with local hospitals. I provided individual, couples, and family therapy to children, adolescents and adults presenting with an extensive range of presenting concerns and diagnoses.

Most recently, I was an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and a clinician at McLean Hospital’s 3East DBT Program. This intensive residential program provides treatment to teens and young adults with symptoms of self-injury, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, disordered eating, substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder. This program is nationally and internationally recognized as one of the top treatment programs in the country for severely depressed and suicidal young women who have a history of struggling with mood disorders, trauma, and for some, borderline personality disorder.

While working at McLean Hospital, I began a small private practice and chose to expand this private practice now as a mother to two young children. This new arrangement allows for a better home and work life balance, and also offers more flexibility for me to increase my time and energy allocated to doing community outreach. Specifically, I have always loved hiking, kayaking, and being outdoors, and am excited to share my passion for nature and mindfulness by running programs and workshops around the Boston area that create opportunities for children and adolescents to put down their devices, “unplug,” and connect with their immediate surroundings.

Education

I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY and earned my doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I then completed an APA-accredited clinical internship at The Help Group in Sherman Oaks, CA; one of the largest, most comprehensive non-profits in the country serving children, adolescents, and young adults with special needs related to emotional and behavioral challenges, learning disabilities, abuse, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, and developmental delays.

From LA it was back to Chicago where I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Academic and Community Leadership at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. This position included working as a therapist and clinical supervisor at a residential treatment facility serving DCFS wards of the state, and also as an administrator for the graduate school, teaching seminars, supervising graduate students, and managing community partnerships with five non-profits in the Chicago area that collaborated with the school.