I have been a psychotherapist in private practice for more than 14 years, but I began my professional life as a cultural anthropologist, and that training and perspective are resources I apply continually in my work as a counselor.

The broader context of culture and society affects each and every one of us, regardless of our ethnic, religious, or political affiliations, through our work, our schools, our families, our neighborhoods, and the larger communities where we live. Too often the impacts of culture and society are stressful, and it is challenging to live healthy lives that suit our individual natures and family circumstances.

In fact, our very ideas about psychological health and illness and our ways of expressing our contentment or distress are given to us by culture through our human relationships, our institutions, and the media. In therapy, it is possible to sort through what parts of received ‘wisdom’ work well for a client and what other possibilities there are for a more satisfying life.

I earned a Masters and PhD in cultural anthropology at Cornell University, where I specialized in culture and history in Latin America. For my research, I talked with residents of Mexico City about their sense of culture and history, life and death, and their day-to-day challenges as residents of an overcrowded urban setting.

I taught anthropology at several colleges and universities. Then I moved into academic advising at the college level. My experiences as a college teacher and academic dean led me to recognize in myself a stronger urge to support people with their personal struggles as they tried to create lives of integrity and authenticity. Thus I turned to psychotherapist as a more appropriate role.

I hold a Masters of Social Work from Marywood University, where my clinical training focused on clients of all ages in a community mental health clinic and troubled adolescents in residential treatment. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with an “R” designation, the highest licensing level in the state of New York. (Check out licensing credential here.)

I speak Spanish as well as English and can conduct sessions in either language.