My Story

One of the best decisions I made in my life was a career change in my 30’s due to my dissatisfaction with my job in the corporate sector leading me to get my master’s degree in social work. Since then, I have dedicated my career to working in the field of mental health for the past 30 years that has proved to be a richer and more rewarding experience than I could have imagined.

I began working in inpatient psychiatric settings beginning at the University of Maryland Medical Center on their general psychiatric units. This gave me a first had experience of working directly with clients in an acute setting and working in different treatment modalities including case-management, individual, family and group therapies. This then led to joining the Center for Eating Disorders (CED) at Sheppard Pratt where I provided family and group therapies to the clients in the inpatient and partial hospital programs.

Following my 2-year experience at CED, I then began working at The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt. This experience proved to be invaluable as I was trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. This was a game changer in my professional career as it revealed to me how vital it is to teach coping strategies to better manage symptoms of mood disorders and addictions. I also learned how valuable Mindfulness skills are, not only helping clients cope with difficult thoughts and emotions but living life with more awareness and purpose to the present moment. Along the way I also learned the value of other Evidence-Based Therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy.

I then returned to the CED outpatient clinic where I worked for 12 years applying these therapies to the clients I worked with. During those 12 years I also ran several adult DBT Skills groups which proved to be one of the most fulfilling clinical experiences that I’ve experienced in my professional life as a therapist.