I am a psychotherapist practicing in suburban Philadelphia, PA. I specialize in two types of psychotherapy: 1) Bioenergetic Analysis which is a form of body psychotherapy for individuals and 2) IMAGO Relationship Therapy which is a therapy that focuses on couples or any dyadic (two person) relationship. I came to these two specialties from my own experiences both as a patient and as a therapist.

I found Bioenergetic therapy to be very effective for me in my personal life and later as a trainee. Bioenergetic therapy helped me to bypass my verbal defenses and to work on the underlying psychological dynamics that traditional ”talk therapy” could not touch. As a therapist I have found this to be a rewarding and powerful approach for the patients with whom I work.

When I first began working with couples I often found myself bewildered and ill-prepared to deal with the unique and complex dynamics of two person relationships. This all changed for me when I found IMAGO relationship therapy. I discovered that IMAGO therapy provides effective and powerful tools for healing troubled relationships in a variety of contexts such as couples, friends, parent/child, partners etc.

These two modalities have much in common. They help the individual or each partner to understand and work through deep hurts and traumas experienced in childhood, which are being played out in their current relationships. As we grow into adulthood the coping defenses we acquired in childhood come along with us. Unfortunately they have mostly outlived their usefulness, and in fact are frequently the cause of major disruption, pain and loneliness in our lives and in our attempts to connect with our partners. We see these coping mechanisms as constrictions in the body, repressed feelings and perceptual distortions in our relationships, among other debilitating reactions and emotions.

I view Bioenergetic Analysis and IMAGO Relationship Therapy as gifts. As such they are to be shared with anyone who has come to a place in his or her life where he or she wants to work at healing old wounds, and who wants to change his or her life from pain, depression and despair to aliveness, hope and fulfillment.

Area of Special Interest: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

I have a personal and professional interest in the use of IMAGO Relationship Therapy to treat couples where one or both partners have Attention Deficit Disorder. I am also interested in the application of IMAGO therapy to couples with learning disabilities, a condition that often accompanies ADD.

More About Me:

Education:

• Masters Degree, Rehabilitation Counseling, West Virginia University.
• Advanced Graduate Studies, Counseling Education, The University of Virginia.
• Ph.D., Psycho educational Processes, Temple University.

License and Certifications:

• Licensed Professional Counselor. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
• Certified Bioenergetic Therapist (CBT) from the International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis.
• Certified IMAGO Relationship Therapist (CIT) from the International Institute for IMAGO Relationship Therapy.
• Fellow of the American Psychotherapy Association

Professional Memberships:

• International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis
• Mid-Hudson Society for Bioenergetic Analysis of New York
• Philadelphia Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis
• United States Association for Body Psychotherapy
• International Institute of IMAGO Relationship Therapy
• American Counseling Association

I subscribe to and follow the ethical standards of the:

• American Counseling Association
• United States Association for Body Psychotherapy
• American Psychotherapy Association

Professional Experience:

I originally began my professional life as a rehabilitation counselor working with handicapped teens in cooperative public school programs. I was also a career counselor in public schools and a school counselor in a combined junior-senior high school. Later I created and directed a community college human service/mental health associate degree program. While enrolled in doctoral studies I was an adjunct professor teaching communication skills, human resource development and group dynamics at various colleges and universities in the Philadelphia region. Before entering private practice I was a staff therapist in an inner city mental health clinic. I’ve been a counselor/therapist for 38 years and in private practice for the last 15 of those years.