• Do you at times feel agitated, confused or unhappy?
• Are there aspects of your life that are painful, or frustrating patterns you feel doomed to repeat?
• Is there a way you'd like to be different in your life but don't know how or where to begin?
• Do you too often feel stuck, frustrated or unable to communicate with your partner?

If you answered 'Yes' to any of those questions, then I'd be honored to help facilitate such changes in you to ease these hard places.

The process of integrating the practice of mindfulness with clinical expertise offers a skillful way to help you shift into less painful or restrictive patterns of behavior. As is said, "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional!" I'd welcome an opportunity to help you ease your suffering.

The changes I've witnessed in my clients has been inspiring, reinforcing of the effectiveness of this 2600 year old path. Mindfulness offers the way to come to know one's own mind, the key player in all our interior and exterior experiences. Developing awareness and practicing paying attention by increasing your relationship to your internal life is key to the shift from difficulty to ease.
It's humbling to observe my clients who are struggling with many issues arrive at a place of greater peacefulness and acceptance. That is the stepping stone to cultivating a healthy mindset and wise heart.

I work with adults individually and couples of all orientations, ethnicity, religions and cultures. Many clients have been kind enough to appreciate my warm, interactive and at times humorous style. Change happens in part through relational interactions. Joy and laughter can be a welcome and normalizing response to human experiences.

VIPASSANA/MEDITATION BACKGROUND
Drawn to Buddhism since I was in my teens, I first learned meditation from Dr. Rina Sircar in 1988. I've had a daily sitting practice since the mid 90's. I typically take 1 or 2 silent residential retreats annually of up to 3 weeks duration. Throughout the year I attend numerous daylongs and weekly sitting groups. I recently participated in a 2 - year long Dedicated Practitioners Program for senior students through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Related past groups that have also informed my work have been James Baraz' "Awakening Joy" and Bonnie O'Brien Jonsson's "Year to Live".

RELEVANT CLINICAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, 1993, California Institute of Integral Studies, SF.
Doctoral internships completed at C.G. Jung Institute, SF, and UCSF Mt. Zion specializing with AIDS patients on the medical wards.