About
My approach to treatment is informed by research and evidence. I am commited to working with individuals in the outpatient environment where they can identify and cultivate the life that is worth staying alive for, a "life worth living." In early DBT work, a person may not know what their "life worth living" is - thats okay! If you are WILLING to build a life worth living, that is enough to get started. My treatment approach has 4 core principles: Relationship, Environment, Intervention and Justice.
I specialize in work with adults seeking a more intensive outpatient treatment than general outpatient therapy can typically provide.
Many of the adults I treat have histories that involve treatment episodes across every levelsof care. The people I work with are often considered 'treatment resistant' or are found on 'no admit' lists at various treatment facilities for problematic behaviors in the treatment environment. These are adults who have exhausted the limitations of hospital resources, and often experience being 'fired' or left by an outpatient team for being 'too acute' or 'too chronic'.
As a clinical social worker, I value that people need agency and self-determination in their recovery and choices around treatment. I also work from the principle that recovery is most sustainable when it is worked on in the community rather than in restrictive environments, like hospitals and clinics.
DBT phone coaching is an instrumental aspect of treatment. With phone coaching, there is a recognition that life events happen between sessions. Skill use and the option of effective or ineffective behaviors also happen between sessions. The goal of phone coaching is to help you be as effective as possible in applying skills in your life on a day-to-day basis.
DBT Skills Group is a weekly 90-minute structured group that trains on the core DBT skills. Having a foundation in DBT skills is a necessary aspect of the treatment and will support the individual work. The 4 DBT modules comprise: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotional Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
Who I Treat
My first exposure to psychiatric treatment was as a volunteer at a California State Psychiatric Hospital, where I spent time with court mandated adolescent girls who lived in the custody of the state. This work showed me the lives of severely ill children who were trying to engage in treatment in a carceral environment. In this work, I observed the myriad of factors that inhibit recovery in the name of safety and security. I witnessed the tension of working toward recovery with restricted access to family, community, autonomy, and agency. This exposure motivated me to pursue clinical social work and social justice education.
In 2012, I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My early career was focused on treating serious mental illness and substance use disorder. In 2018, I was intensively trained in DBT and DBT-Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE) as a participating clinician in the seminal DBT-PE study.
I became a DBT-Linehand Board Certified clinician in 2020. In 2022, I founded the PENN DBT Program at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. I developed the first comprehensive DBT program to provide a fully adherent DBT treatment program within the health system. I continue to collaborate with the PENN DBT Program as an educator and consultant for DBT in outpatient practice and resident education.
My professional focus is on DBT for the treatment of suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self harm and substance use disorders.