My Story
I am a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Columbus, Ohio. I have practiced psychotherapy for over 30 years, and have specialized in the creative process, relationships, mood and anxiety problems, trauma, and parenting. I have put empathy and connection at the heart of what I do, and have understood how feeling alone and/or misunderstood lies at the root of much of our pain. My approach is based on an experience of connection. Empathy heals, empathy strengthens.
Whoever you are, whatever your struggle.
I found that the idea of immersion—of engaging fully with others, with artistic mediums, with nature—is key in developing our most gratifying experiences, and in being our “best selves.” I witnessed and appreciated this challenge in people engaged in the creative process. I have worked with famous artists, not-so-famous artists, professionals and amateurs. Through thousands of hours with writers, musicians, painters, sculptors, film-makers, actors, graphic designers, and other creatives, I appreciated their inner, emotional lives, and the importance of relationships and connections throughout the creative process. Together we made sense of their emotional highs and lows, their hopes and fears.
I feel so fortunate that I have been intimately involved in helping many great works of art come to life. My book, STANDING AT WATERS EDGE, was created from these understandings. I had fun promoting the book with a tour including TV, radio, podcasts, book signings and discussions. It was an invigorating time of meeting new people and pushing myself out of my comfort zones.
I also taught Psych 101 at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, as an Adjunct Professor, over a period of 3 years, and got to engage with many talented young artists.
I also developed an awareness of and fascination with the Great Apes, and was continually surprised to learn about and witness their incredible capacities for cognitive and emotional intelligence. They are just like us in so many ways! I connected with Marian Brickner, an animal behavioral photographer, who had taken stunning photographs of cute bonobo apes relating with each other. We decided to collaborate and created a book series for children about empathy. We put a lot of love into creating, developing, and marketing The Empathy Way Series. I also wrote a Teacher’s Manual to accompany the books and developed an Empathy in Education program for use in schools for grades K-6.
I gave presentations and wrote articles about Empathy in Parenting, and Empathy in Education. I also expanded the ideas about empathy to business and leadership and created a training program for executives about Empathy in Leadership. I gave an 8-hour workshop to “train the trainers” to implement the program with business leaders.
I am the Midwest Editor for the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (IAPSP) e-forum newsletter. I am a member of The American Psychological Association and The International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology.
In 1994, I co-founded the Cincinnati Center for Self Psychology, a training/educational institute for mental health professionals in the theory and practice of Self Psychology. I served as President and Faculty member of CCSP and gave numerous presentations at professional conferences. I was trained and mentored in Self Psychology and Intersubjectivity Theory by internationally-known experts including Anna Ornstein, MD, Paul Ornstein, MD, Marion Tolpin, MD, and Doris Brothers, PhD.
I am a mother, and have devoted myself to learning about, experiencing, and immersing in parenting. I love to dance. I bake for comfort. I love cats, apes, and all animals. I love to write, and I love to decorate. I love nature, gardening, and I love rock and roll.
