Gottman Referral Network

About

I work with individuals and couples. My expertise includes improving communication, intimacy and conflict management. While the emphasis is on assisting couples in distress, my expertise also includes premarital couples, as well as couples wishing to deepen their relationships. Individual issues include managing depression, anxiety, work-related issues, aging, life transitions, 12 Step recovery programs and issues of unresolved grief / loss.

APPROACH

My approach is gentle yet direct; empathetic yet practical. I draw from a wide and diverse background, within both the therapeutic and business worlds. I have been told my style is incisive and collaborative. I find most couples and individuals are seeking the same thing when they come to therapy: CHANGE. So in some ways, I view my role as being a facilitator of change, helping individuals and couples identify and define their areas for the changes they seek. Then my role is to help them acquire and utilize the tools of change whether that is through the insight of the psychodynamic approach or the practical interventions of the Gottman Method.

QUALIFICATIONS

My diverse background has conditioned me to be direct and practical in my approach. I come from a long and successful career in business, ranging from production-line manufacturing to 12 years as CEO of a manufacturing firm, employing over 100 people. During that time, I represented my industry in Sacramento and Washington D.C.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

My counseling career began 20 years ago when I entered graduate school. I have a Bachelor's degree in Business and a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology. I find myself constantly reflecting with my clients, "is this working or not? If it is, we need to know why and if it isn't, we need to know why." My marital theory was originally the Systems approach, but after hearing John Gottman speak in 2001, I became a convert to his Research Based Methods and became certified with the Gottman Institute in 2004. My psychodynamic training came largely from the personal supervision of Drs. A. Martin Goodman and Althea Horner, both masters of that approach. As a Christian, I am able to provide a spiritual component if desired and as a student of recovery, I am quite familiar with 12 Step programs.

License, Certification or Registration: MFT, MFC 37192

FINANCIAL

Credit Cards and Cash accepted.

Special populations

Elders

Christian

Twelve Step