Education
I received my BA from Clark University and then worked at McLean Hospital in Cambridge, MA on a Cognitive- Behavioral therapy unit. In Los Angeles, I worked in autism research for a year at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute. I received my MA in clinical psychology in 1990 and my doctorate in 1992 from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles.
Internship
My clinical internship was at UCLA/NPI. I received training there in consulation/liason, working with sugical and cancer patients and their families in the UCLA Medical Center. I participated in clinical rounds with the Head and Neck Surgical team and evaluated patients at the Breast Center. I also worked in the Adult Outpatient Eating Disorder clinic and treated adults in outpatient individual psychotherapy. It was there that I completed the UCLA Human Sexuality Training Program and became a sex therapist and participated in a training seminar specializing in relaxation techniques.
At the UCLA Medical Center I worked with cancer patients and their families, I evaluated women at the High Risk Program at the UCLA Breast Center, did eligability evaluations for the Liver Transplant Team. I ran relaxation groups for cancer patients and their families, as well groups for women at a high risk of developing breast cancer as part of a research project that I conducted.
Teaching Experience
My graduate teaching experience has been at University of Southern California, in their counseling psychology program where I taught Human Sexuality and Sex therapy, Family therapy and Psychotherapy with Children.
I developed and ran mother and baby groups providing a safe environment for new and second-time moms to discuss their challenges with the transition and combined that with instruction on infant development and infant massage.