I have been a psychotherapist for nearly 25 years, having completed my Master’s in Social Work (MSW) at the University of Washington in 1986. Prior to beginning my private practice in 1999, I was on the staff of Virginia Mason Medical Center for 12 years. While at VMMC, I worked in the Virginia Mason Psychotherapy Unit where I facilitated a variety of groups along with providing psychotherapy for individuals and couples.
Since receiving my degree, I have done postgraduate training through a series of courses, institutes, workshops, and seminars. I hold a certificate in psychoanalytic psychotherapy from COR-Northwest Family Development Center and am currently a senior candidate at the Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society, part of the International Psychoanalytical Association.
I became a psychotherapist after a long career as a visual artist and have worked in various media, including painting, photography, video, installation art and, most recently, ceramic sculpture. I also have a long-standing interest in film and co-developed the psychoanalytic film series “Luminous Psyche: Selected Films of Max Ophuls,” which was held at the Seattle Art Museum in 2003. In 2005, I produced a second series, “Luminous Psyche 2005: Selected Films of Bernardo Bertolucci.” I have also begun writing about the intersection of art and psychoanalysis and presented a paper at the 2009 IPSO Congress in Chicago, titled “Inside a Tightly Closed Balloon: Construction, Reconstruction and Transformation in the Figurative Work of Magdalena Abakanowicz.”
I have affiliations with the following organizations:
Clinical Social Work Association
Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work (WSSCSW)
Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society