Our Staff

Licensure: Licensed Professional Counselor
Education:Boston College, MA, 2002, Counseling Psychology
Internship: Simmons College Counseling Center
Theoretical Orientation: "I view therapy as a process that is collaborative and considers the person in the context of their life: culture, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, religious background, socio-economic status, etc. Healing in therapy comes from the relationship and a willingness to explore, be curious and "be comfortable with being uncomfortable."
Clinical Interests: Substance misuse and abuse treatment; LGBT issues; gender
Memberships: American Counseling Association, Psi Chi
Supervision Style: My supervision style is student-centered. I tend toward a coaching style that is collaborative in nature.

Licensure: Psychology Resident
Education: New York University, 2009, Counseling Psychology
Internship: University of Miami Counseling Center, Coral Gables, FL.
Theoretical Orientation: I collaborate with clients to identify schemas - maladaptive patterns that are disruptive to their lives that manifest through problems with connections to others, independence, self-esteem, self-expression, and/or realistic limits. My work with clients involves leading them to develop insight about their schemas, and then helping them develop strategies to confront their schemas rather than surrendering to or escaping from them. I consider developmental factors, but focus on the here and now, especially on the client's current interpersonal relationships - including the relationship in the room. I also focus on clients' strengths and past successes, with the goal of optimizing their overall academic and interpersonal experiences at VCU.
Clinical Interests: Multicultural counseling and training, men’s issues, cognitive and developmental concerns, group and individual psychotherapy
Memberships: American Psychological Association (Div. 17, 45)
Supervision Style: I strive to meet the trainee at his or her developmental level. I believe strongly in reviewing session recordings, and providing constructive and supportive feedback. Depending the experience level of the trainee, my role as supervisor would be to share illustrative examples from my clinical experience, teach techniques that may be useful, support the trainee's strengths, and encourage the trainee to trust his or her intuition. I would also like to review how multiculturalism impacts the work of therapy.

Licensure: Clinical Psychologist, National Certified Counselor
Education: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1997, Counseling Psychology
Internship: Towson University
Theoretical Orientation: My theoretical orientation is integrative. My understanding of people is informed by a psychodynamic perspective (the importance of a person’s experiences in early life) and an understanding of family systems (the effects of one part of a system upon others). I believe that the agent of change in therapy is centered on our relationship and the interpersonal process, so I put emphasis on building a therapeutic alliance and pay attention to how we interact. I also believe that when change truly occurs, it is evident in one’s thoughts and behaviors – so working with these is a necessary and integral part of the change process. I am aware of the power that others assign to us as therapists, supervisors, and teachers, and the need to use both our personal influence and professional power responsibly, with care and respect. I remain in awe of the human experience.
Clinical Interests: Supervision and training; Safe Zone Program, women's issues; group therapy; gay/lesbian/bisexual issues; career development; psychology and the arts.
Memberships: American Psychological Association Divisions 10, 17, 35; Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
Supervision Style: In supervision I work collaboratively to establish an open and trusting relationship in which we can both learn about ourselves and our clinical work. I am attentive to the trainee’s developmental level, multicultural issues, interpersonal and process variables, and clients’ needs. I am invested in training and find that supervision works best when approached with an attitude of eagerness to learn and grow.

Licensure: Clinical Psychologist
Education: The Pennsylvania State University, 1999, Counseling Psychology
Internship: University of Maryland
Theoretical Orientation: Interpersonal process psychotherapy, psychodynamic, family systems
Clinical Interests: Training and supervision; conflict mediation; community violence; multiculturalism; African American men's issues; leadership development
Memberships: American Psychological Association
Supervision Style: In supervision I work to meet supervisees where she or he is developmentally. I encourage supervisees to explore how to use self as a tool in helping students and I support him or her in trying different techniques to help students. I am a firm believer in a strength based perspective and work with supervisees on building those while also helping her or him grow in other areas. I often use the Socratic method in supervision as a tool to help supervisees think critically about the interventions he or she uses with students.

Licensure: Psychology Resident
Education: The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 2008, Clinical Psychology
Internship: Bowling Green State University
Theoretical Orientation: Psychodynamic, relational/interpersonal process, integrative
Clinical Interests: Brief psychodynamic therapy, men’s issues, relationship issues, identity issues, depression and anxiety, group therapy, and supervision and training
Memberships: American Psychological Association, Division 39-Psychoanalytic Psychology, Division 51-Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity
Style of Supervision: Supervision is a passion of mine and one my favorite aspects of counseling center work. I approach supervision from a developmental perspective, which is focused on meeting trainees at their current developmental level and assisting them in reaching the next stage of their development. I also focus heavily on helping trainees achieve their training goals and develop their own style of therapy. I strive to develop a strong supervisory relationship and strongly believe that supervision should be collaborative and that feedback should be bidirectional.

Licensure: Clinical Social Worker
Education: Virginia Commonwealth University, 1986, Social Work
Theoretical Orientation: Contemporary Psychodynamic (includes feminist and multicultural), object relations
Clinical Interests: Treatment of personality disorders; depression, gender issues, suicidality and grief counseling; supervision; mentoring; coaching and leadership development; academic success of all students
Memberships: National Association of Social Workers; National Association of Female Executives; Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society; National Group Therapy Association; Washington School of Psychiatry Alumni Association; American College Personnel Association, CCAPS Directorate
Style of Supervision: I take a developmental approach to supervision. I begin at the level of the supervisee and jointly develop goals for the future. I believe it is important to understand and explore countertransference reactions as well as attend to the parallel process between supervisee and supervisor. Other important factors to explore include cross gender and cross cultural issues. The supervision space is one of support as well as challenge.

Licensure: Clinical Psychologist
Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000, Counseling Psychology
Internship: Counseling and Consultation at Arizona State University
Theoretical Orientation: My theoretical orientation is always evolving to include ways that I grow and change as a clinician but my primary affiliation is with the Relational-Cultural Model from the Stone Center. This approach is a mixture of psychodynamic and interpersonal theories embedded within a multicultural framework. I believe in the primacy of relationships for healing and believe that many mental health concerns are related to disconnects that individuals experience throughout life in important relationships with self, others, community and culture. Therefore the therapeutic relationship is key for me in facilitating change and I work with clients to help heal the ruptures in relationships and to better integrate parts of self and experiences that have been set aside or disowned, creating a fuller and richer sense of self in relationships with self and others.
Clinical Interests: Eating disorders; substance abuse; grief; trauma; women's issues; supervision
Membership: American College Personnel Association, CCAPS Directorate
Style of Supervision: My supervision style is collaborative and focused on the trainee's specific developmental needs. I work with trainees to identify current areas of strength and support their continued growth in these areas while identifying growth areas and helping facilitate growth in these more difficult areas. I value self-reflection as a tool for supervision and psychotherapy. I like to use video tape in supervision often as it helps me better see dynamics in the therapy relationship and provides another set of "eyes" to help supervisees recognize blind spots and countertransference reactions. Also important is discussing how growth as a clinician is interacting with overall growth as an emerging professional.

Licensure: Clinical Psychologist
Education: The Ohio State University, 2004, Counseling Psychology
Internship: University of California, Davis Counseling Center
Theoretical Orientation: I am integrative in orientation but I draw predominately from cognitive behavioral and interpersonal process psychotherapy.
Clinical Interests: Multiculturalism, Eating Disorders, Training and Supervision
Memberships: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA)
Style of Supervision: Supervision is one of my passions! As a supervisor, I work to both support and challenge supervisees. I am developmental in my approach as I strive to meet my supervisees at their point of need. I firmly believe that supervision is bi-directional; that is to say that I expect to learn as much from my supervisee as they learn from me. The review of tape is an integral part of supervision and I really work to help trainees develop themselves as a tool, creating a space in supervision where they can explore their reactions to their clients and their work.

Licensure: Psychology Resident
Education: University of Missouri Kansas City
Theoretical Orientation: I use an integrative approach, mainly drawing from Emotion Focused Therapy, Multicultural/Feminist & Interpersonal approaches. I also incorporate Dialectical Behavior Therapy when this is appropriate. Essentially, I strive to create an empathic healing relationship as a base in therapy and adjust to meet the therapeutic needs of each client.
Clinical Interests: I am interested in working with all presenting concerns & issues. However, I have particular interest in working with survivors of sexual assault/abuse and trauma. Additionally, I value working with clients who are experiencing complicated grief, LGBT clients, combat veterans and first generation college students.
Style of Supervision: I believe that work with trainees should involve a strong, collegial relationship which evolves to meet the needs of the supervisee. We are all unique individuals, and I try to meet my supervisees where they are at while still challenging growth. Because I value examining process in therapy I often enjoy working with supervisees who can examine process and their role in the therapy dyad. I think one of the strengths I bring to supervision is the ability to focus on process and affect. Understanding relational and emotional patterns and exploring and deepening client affect are things I enjoy helping trainees develop. Gradually, over time, my goal is to facilitate the development of a much more collaborative supervision relationship similar to professional consultation and collaboration between professional colleagues. Finally, I enjoy a good sense of humor and it is inherently a part of how I work with all people.

Licensure: Clinical Psychologist
Education: University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001, Counseling Psychology
Internship: University of Missouri-Kansas City
Theoretical Orientation: Integrative approach incorporating psychodynamic, interpersonal, humanistic, feminist, and multicultural perspectives
Clinical Interests: Multicultural issues; gender issues; working with international students; outreach programming; consultation; group and individual psychotherapy
Memberships: American Psychological Association, Division 17
Style of Supervision: My supervision style/approach is collaborative in nature and is based on supervisees’ need and developmental level. I try to create supportive environment to create space for supervisees to explore their perspectives and to process their countertransference. I like to assist supervisees to challenge themselves to stretch and advance their clinical work and professional development. I like to utilize tape to provide feedback and to explore relational dynamics in therapy. I like to assist supervisees to explore/process diversity issues in therapy relationship as well as in supervisory relationship.

Licensure: Clinical Psychologist
Education: Virginia Commonwealth University, 2005, Counseling Psychology
Internship: Virginia Commonwealth University Counseling Center
Theoretical Orientation: My theoretical approach is integrative; informed primarily by interpersonal theory with a feminist lens. I wholeheartedly believe that people can find healing and peace in the context of relationships and aim to create a therapeutic relationship where this may occur. Additionally, I incorporate Dialectical Behavioral Therapy as a core foundation of treatment with clients for whom this is appropriate. I am aware of the impact of environmental and societal influences, and attuned to issues of multiculturalism. For example, I am aware that clients do not live in a vacuum, and that society’s notions regarding gender, culture, power, racism, heterosexism, and definitions of "success" affect clients and their development, internalized view of self, and experiences. I believe that each client has untapped internal resources and strengths, and attempt to assist the client in developing these by highlighting them in our work together."
Clinical Interests: Eating disorders; chronic illness, sexual trauma, group therapy, couples/family therapy, supervision and training.
Memberships: American Psychological Association, International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, National Eating Disorder Association
Style of Supervision: I thoroughly enjoy providing supervision! My supervision style is flexible enough to accommodate trainees unique needs, but structured enough to ensure that it is a useful training experience. I take a collaborative and developmental approach to supervision. Taking into consideration the trainees experience and stage of development, we establish mutually agreed upon goals aimed at enhancing the trainees skills and comfort as a therapist. I work to create a trusting working alliance such that the trainee can explore issues of counter-transference and world view in additional to technical aspects of conducting therapy. I value watching trainees tapes, discussing theoretical orientation, and reading material that enriches the training experience. Finally, I encourage trainees to consult with me in-between supervision sessions in the event that they need additional support.

Licensure: Clinical Psychologist
Education: The Ohio State University, 2000, Counseling Psychology
Theoretical Orientation: My theoretical orientation is integrative, influenced by feminist, relational, narrative, and social constructionist ideas. I view therapy as a collaborative process that can assist in clarifying and working through difficulties so that life can be lived in more congruent and satisfying ways.
Clinical Interests: I enjoy working with students across a wide variety of issues. Some special areas of clinical interest include trauma, couples work, multicultural and gender issues, LGBT issues, eating disorders, and use of mindfulness in therapy.
Memberships: American College Personnel Association, Association for Women in Psychology
Style of Supervision: I work collaboratively with supervisees to clarify and work towards their goals, explore and expand clinical skills, and assist in the process of developing their unique professional identity and style.

Licensure: Clinical Social Worker
Education: Virginia Commonwealth University, 1997, Social Work
Internship: Virginia Commonwealth University
Theoretical Orientation: Object relations and Attachment Theory
Clinical Interests: Trauma, working with Axis II disorders, group therapy, grief, and multicultural issues Memberships: National Association of Social Workers
Style of Supervision: I believe in working from a developmental approach, taking interns where they are. Together, we develop learning objectives that will help them become successful professional social workers. Although I work primarily from object relations and attachment theory, my interns are free to develop a theoretical orientation that fits with their values and the values of NASW. Supervision is interactive, and interns are encouraged to be actively engaged in the process and not just passive recipients of knowledge. I stress critical thinking and informed interventions.