Bio...

I am a licensed clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst who has been practicing psychotherapy and performing comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations for more than thirty years.  I received my B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from New York University. The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) has awarded me Diplomate status with specialty board certification in Psychoanalysis.   ABPP is the only multi-board organization recognized by the American Psychological Association's Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Subspecialties in Professional Psychology.  It is the highest level of certification within the field of psychology.  In 2018, I was also awarded fellow status by the American Psychological Association and Division 39. APA describes fellow status as an honor bestowed upon those who have shown evidence of unusual and outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology. Fellow status requires that a person's work has had a national impact on the field of psychology beyond a local, state or regional level.

I am currently an adjunct Professor in the Postgraduate Programs in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy at the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University and former President of the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis (ABAPsa) as well as its current National Examination Coordinator. In addition to participating in the ABAPsa workgroup responsible for the development of educational and training standards adopted by CRSPPP, I was part of the workgroup that developed the child section of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2). I have authored or co-edited ten books and numerous papers on psychoanalytic topics and currently hold positions as associate editor of Contemporary Psychoanalytic Studies; editor of the Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Metalepsis—Journal of the American Board & Academy of Psychoanalysis, and Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Psychology; contributing editor of Division/Review and Journal of Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry.

My philosophy...

Psychotherapy offers an opportunity for personal growth and development as well as for learning more effective strategies for managing the stress and adversity in life.  It is an inherently collaborative process that requires an empathic, highly trained therapist and a client willing to enter into a therapeutic relationship which, by definition, is different from those relationships he or she has formed in the past.  The process is conversational, reflective, and begins with a desire for self-understanding.  My therapeutic approach is empathic and nonjudgmental.  I focus on providing insight about those factors that perpetuate emotional suffering and self-defeating behavior as well as identifying and developing ways to live a more engaged and creative life.  It is my belief that a lively working alliance facilitates coping and healing.  Only in a therapeutic relationship experienced as safe does one entertain new perspectives and make choices less determined by the legacy of the past.