DESCRIPTION OF CLINICAL PRACTICE
I help individuals and couples address thorny relationship issues and life concerns. Together, we create a safe place to explore issues that need attention so that you may move toward more freedom, peace, and intimacy -- and less suffering. I encourage bringing awareness to the subtle flow of your inner experiencing in a somatic, bodily-felt way. Learning to hold ourselves in a caring, gentle way -- especially difficult, scary, or painful places -- creates a foundation for inner strength, wisdom, and loving relationships.

Authenticity is a key to trusting, intimate relationships, but first we must be authentic with ourselves. Can we gently notice and embrace our genuine feelings, desires, and longings without being ashamed of them? Can we communicate feelings and set boundaries with an open heart? Can we deal with hurts, shame, and broken trust in a way that leads to reconciliation -- or renew trust in life if we've experienced loss? Do we push people away in ways that are difficult to detect rather than invite people toward us? As we heal, grow, and relate to others from our authentic self, we feel more connected to people, life, and nature.

VIPASSANA/MEDITATION BACKGROUND
I have over 30 years immersion in Buddhism and spiritual wisdom. I lived in the New York Zen Center in 1973 and have been practicing Vipassana since 1974. I attended my first ten day retreat with Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Sharon Salzberg in 1975, and have attended many retreats since then. I was a contributing editor and writer for Yoga Journal for ten years.

RELEVANT CLINICAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
I hold graduate degrees in both Clinical and Transpersonal Psychology and have been a psychotherapist for 30 years. I specialize in the areas of relationships and intimacy, grief and loss, and developing a psychologically sound approach to spiritual growth. I am the author of The Authentic Heart, which offers a spiritually-based path to love a intimacy. I also wrote Love & Betrayal, which explores ways that we betray others and ourselves -- and offers a path to heal our shame, hurt, and mistrust. I am coauthor of Being Intimate, which explores how intimacy grows by embracing and expressing our inwardly felt world through a process called Focusing, developed by Dr. Eugene Gendlin (see focusingtherapy.org). I am a Certified Focusing Trainer and have received training in the Somatic Experience work developed by Dr. Peter Levine to heal trauma. I've also had training in Emotionally-Focused Therapy for couples (EFT) with Sue Johnson, and have co-authored a chapter with her on Buddhism and EFT in a forthcoming casebook on EFT. I have spoken locally and internationally on love and relationships and have been a featured media guest on programs including CNN, CNBC, Donahue, and NPR stations. I am an adjunct faculty member of Meridian University.