 “There is only one way to make people talk more than they care to. Listen. Listen with hungry earnest attention to every word. You can’t fake it. You have to really listen. In a posture of gratitude. And it is such a rare and startling experience for them, such a boon to ego, such a gratification of self, to find a genuine listener, that they want to prolong the experience. And the only way to do that is to keep talking. A good listener is far more rare than an adequate lover.” John MacDonald, Nightmare in Pink. (1964, New York: Fawcett Crest) Counseling ServicesI received my Masters in counseling psychology from Holy Names University. My pre-Masters clinical training included working with the student population and with children experiencing the death of a parent or loved one. Post-Masters, I spent four years working at Hospice by the Bay as a grief counselor providing counseling to individuals, families, couples, and children. I also facilitated groups, one ongoing group for disabled adults and many parental loss groups. My practice includes working with clients presented with depression, anxiety, addiction, grief and loss, and trauma. I like to work with older clients facing life changes, such as loss of a partner or of work identity, and clients of any age facing developmental challenges that come with changing roles and responsibilities. While my therapeutic approach is humanistic and interpersonal, I appreciate exploring a client’s story from any approach – psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, systemic, narrative – that can lead to the change a client seeks. I am also conversant in 12-Step work, a process which often provides a useful perspective on many of the issues, not just addiction, with which clients present in therapy. Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break. ~ William Shakespeare |