I have always been interested in how people give meaning to their lives and cope with all the catastrophes of living. This interest has compelled me to learn everything I can about human behavior in an effort to alleviate suffering and help people find meaning and joy in their everyday lives.

My appreciation for the ever changing human condition compelled me to earn a B.A. degree in sociology and early childhood development. My studies in sociology reinforced my deep appreciation for the different ways people live as human beings on this planet. I also learned that our beliefs about ourselves are not only formed by conscious and unconscious messages from our parents, but also by our community and the greater culture in which we live. Studying early childhood behavior taught me the roots of human development. It became clear to me that children need to feel physically and psychologically safe in order to grow up into adults that can share their gifts and talents with the world.

Following graduation from Hofstra University, I taught in a pre-school education program. This experience allowed me to see firsthand how children learn from social interaction and play. Learning on all levels was characterized by great individual variation. I observed how naturally curious and intuitive we are as children and wondered about the experiences each child would have that might alter their aliveness.

Shortly after my two children were born, my passion for understanding human behavior was matched by a love of preparing delicious and nutritious food. Growing up, some of my happiest memories were helping my tiny Greek grandmother prepare savory and sweet ethnic delicacies. In my own home, I began to research how to prepare meals that would be both appealing and nutritious. Cookbooks became my novels as I embraced every opportunity to create family traditions that would include elaborate and festive meals. Following one of these meals, friends encouraged me to think about turning my passion into my livelihood. I enrolled at The New York Restaurant School and later attended the New York Institute of Technology culinary school. Catering out of my home on Long Island allowed me to be with my kids while doing work I loved.

As my children grew, so did my frustration with the inequities of resources in our society. When I was preparing food for others I felt I was being nurturing and productive. However, I was becoming very concerned about the world in which I was preparing my children to live. I started to feel I needed to make a different kind of contribution. So, I went back to my earlier roots in sociology and pursued a master's degree in social work at SUNY Stony Brook. During my second year internship at a community hospital's outpatient psychiatric clinic, I knew I wanted to be a psychotherapist. I would achieve this goal in another year.

Following graduation, I worked in an acute care setting providing crisis intervention and family counseling to a primarily aged population. This experience taught me a great deal about the creative and courageous ways my clients dealt with adversity throughout their lives. I learned from their wisdom, their tenacity, their indomitable spirits. The stories of their lives deepened my compassion for the human condition.

From there I went to work as a psychotherapist in a community mental health clinic, where I treated people from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds who were suffering with a wide range of addictions and psychiatric problems. My work with clients and my own heart left me feeling like something was missing. There is a saying: "when you are ready the teacher will come." I know I was ready because I began to be drawn to books and lectures that created a spiritual awakening within me.

At a seven day mindfulness-based stress reduction retreat led by Jon Kabat-Zinn I was encouraged to begin a daily meditation practice. This practice influenced how I worked with my clients. It became my goal to share the principles learned through meditation and guided imagery as a way of reducing stress, as well as a way of connecting with inner wisdom. From this goal, I developed a ten-session program to treat anxiety and taught this model to clients and other practitioners. The model was also heavily influenced by my study of cognitive behavioral therapy, which I also found very helpful in treating depressive disorders.

An incredible opportunity presented itself and I became the executive director of Brooklyn Heights Center for Counseling. The clinic specialized in treating people with eating disorders. Very quickly I immersed myself in learning effective treatment models for people suffering with body and food issues. I continued to grow in my own clinical practice by treating the most challenging clients attending the clinic and also supervising other MSW's. When the clinic lost its financial backer, I looked at this as an opportunity to start my current private practice and also do mental health consulting.

I am always investigating new ways to deepen the work I do to facilitate healing. In August, just before 9/11, I took a seven day training in levels one and two of EMDR. I had no idea at the time how important that training would become in my life and the work I do. By personally experiencing healing from EMDR I now live more authentically, in the here and now. As a therapist, some of my first experiences with the healing power of EMDR were working with victims of 9/11. Shortly thereafter I also studied Ericksonian hypnosis. I use EMDR and hypnosis because they both have the ability to connect the body, mind, and spirit in ways that facilitate healing on a very deep and lasting level.

Currently I am working on writing a series of children's books that enhance self-confidence and also teach children ways to handle upsets and adversity.

I am looking forward to learning and growing, as I continue my journey.