About
Welcome, and thank you for visiting my website. 2017 marks the 22nd year of my office in Monterey, California. It is an honor to help clients on their personal journey of learning and life.
I found my own life’s work at age thirteen when I volunteered to help in a class for children with developmental disabilities. I decided then to get the education I would need to be of assistance. I had always been fascinated by the written word, and I observed that literacy contributes not only to an individual’s ability to earn a living, but to communication, personal expression, and admission to a world of information. It became my wish for everyone, to the extent of their ability, to have full access to this freedom.
My initial training came during a classic time in the field of learning disabilities and developmental disabilities. As an undergraduate, I had profoundly significant formative experiences at the Kennedy Child Study Center and the New York City public schools. Over the years, I worked with clients facing the challenges of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Down Syndrome, brain injury, and Prader-Willi Syndrome as they uniquely presented for each individual within their own context. In my work, I see the client first – not the learning difference – and work with them and their family to design a support system which fits their educational, social and/or employment setting.
Since 1982, I have focused on serving the learning disabled community and was the first board-certified educational therapist in the tri-county area. I was a board member of the Central California Branch of the International Dyslexia Association from 1996 to 1999 and have been a supervisor of interns in the educational therapy certificate program at UC Santa Cruz Extension. I believe in community involvement and currently serve as a professional advisor to the Monterey County chapter of Students Advocates for Education (SAFE) and the advisory board of Community Partnership for Youth (CPY). I look forward to meeting you!
Education and Certifications
B.A., Psychology
Marymount Manhattan College
New York, NY
M.A., Special Education
California State University
Los Angeles, CA
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Pacifica Graduate Institute
Carpinteria, CA
Board-Certified Educational Therapist #10074
State of California credentials:
Specialist: Learning Handicapped (lifetime)
Specialist: Severely Handicapped (lifetime)
Multiple Subject (lifetime)
Resource Specialist (clear)
Memberships
International Dyslexia Association
Learning Disabilities Association
California Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Presentations:
partial list: (1995 to present)
International Association for Analytical Psychology
Joint International Conference / July 2015
Yale University
New Haven, CT
American Psychological Association
120th Annual Convention / August 2012
Orlando, FL
Jungian Society for Scholarly Studies
11th Annual Conference / August 2012
New Orleans, LA
State of California Dropout Prevention Conference
Santa Clara County Convention Center
Santa Clara, CA
Santa Cruz County Children’s Network
Santa Cruz, CA
California State University, Monterey Bay
Residential Life Staff
Seaside, CA
Monterey County Office of Education
Salinas, CA
Community Partnership for Youth (CPY)
Seaside, CA
Soledad Unified School District (co-presenter)
Soledad, CA
California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists
(CAMFT), Monterey County Chapter
Monterey, CA