I have more than 40 years’ experience in working with clients and their families who suffer from histories of trauma and abuse. I have been instrumental in developing practice-based models of treatment for trauma/abuse clients who present with eating disorders and self-injury. In addition, I have taught classes on Psychological and Emotional Trauma at the graduate level and provide consultation with other clinicians on clinical treatment challenges. I have been committed to and an active participant in the fields of eating disorders, family therapy, self-harm and trauma as a clinician, consultant, program developer, supervisor/trainer, and author.
I provide an approach that encourages and supports client/family empowerment and self-regulation. While I teach and incorporate skills, I see the client/family as the expert and the therapist as guide and facilitator. I view most client symptoms as protective and our ally - not our enemy to be extinguished and to be gotten rid of. I use a model for organizing Client Self-Regulation that gently focuses upon how to use symptoms to recover, build a skill-base to more effectively handle life's challenges, and how the client can use their personal resources.
