I’m a licensed psychotherapist with advanced certification in grief recovery. I work with clients in person in Berkeley, Lafayette and Moraga, California, and online throughout California.

My career began in advertising, marketing and consumer research. However, throughout my eight years in those roles, I felt a strong and unmistakable pull to work in a field where I would be serving people and helping them find more peace and happiness in their lives.

I found my focus and passion when I went through grieving eight losses in a two-year period and realized that what I’d been taught all my life (what most people are taught) about how to recover from loss was incorrect and unhealthy. Those events set me on the path to the education and advanced certifications that enable me to assist grieving clients.

I guide them through a process that leads to better outcomes and brighter outlooks after any of the more than 40 types of loss—from death and divorce to life transitions like moving, becoming empty-nesters, or experiencing a loss of faith or trust in someone or something.

When not working with clients, I enjoy music, reading, spending time in nature and working with my hands—most recently teaching myself to create clothing on a vintage sewing machine.

Ineffective methods for coping with loss are ingrained in our culture, so it’s unsurprising that we lack positive role models in this area. I’m passionate about helping people grieve in healthy ways, which starts with acknowledging, welcoming and accepting the emotions that naturally arise with loss. Denying or suppressing these feelings can lead to harmful behaviors like lashing out or retreating from relationships and the world in general.

The people seeking my assistance are looking to take a transformative first step in grief recovery. Many say that simply reaching out lifts a great weight from their hearts and minds. Through our work together, they learn to listen to their pain, sadness, anger and other uncomfortable emotions. That openness is essential to reclaiming their peace, centeredness and hope for the future. With those attributes restored, they begin seeking out life-affirming activities and relationships again, and many find that the change in their outlook even supports better physical health.

That type of holistic improvement is what fulfills me.

I engage with each client and their experience with respect, humility, curiosity and a willingness to learn. I’m deeply aware that while I have the psychological training, clients have all their years of lived experience and intimate ways of knowing themselves that I can only begin to understand through our work.

In this type of healthy collaboration, my suggestions are just that—ideas for consideration. I only give advice when a client wants and requests it.

My approach involves addressing grief at a personal level but also within the broader context of living in today’s complex world. I use pop culture, metaphors, imagery, music and other sensory and expressive means to convey insights and see life from the client’s perspective.

I offer a free, 30-minute consultation as a chance for clients to get to know me (and me them) to see if we feel we’re a “good fit” and are confident our time together will be beneficial. We often work in a grief recovery group, but sometimes I recommend another approach—either an individual Grief Recovery Method® process or individual therapy—based on what I believe will best meet a client’s needs and provide the optimal support for where they are in their grief journey.