About Me

For over twenty-five years I’ve counseled couples and families with big, complicated challenges. I have steady nerves, clear vision, unrelenting optimism that people can grow through their worst crises, and heart. (I also know about geeky stuff like interpersonal neurobiology, the brain-heart-gut dialogue, and family systems, but I won’t go into that here, because it can get T E D I O U S.)

At the core of everything I do, I listen to clients.

Very deeply. And when I work with couples, no matter what their relationship status, I aim to help them listen to each other differently.

My passion for this helping work is so great, I also teach others how to do it. For over a decade I’ve taught counseling skills to students at nearby universities. Alongside that, I work with professional folks in non-profit and healthcare settings, training on topics like trauma, supervision practices, and the ethics of helping.

Finally, I am a storyteller. I write essays, memoir, and the occasional piece of fiction. For many years I wrote copiously and forgettably for newspapers, but now I write the kind of stories that I enjoy reading myself: authentic, intimate, complicated, unashamed grappling with what makes us human.