Psychotherapy supports our journey to uncover what is most real and essential, both in ourselves and in our relationships with others. As children, we must shield ourselves against the inevitable pain that results from a complex interplay of temperament and environment. From our families and cultures, we learn to protect the part of ourselves that is most creative and alive. Although this allows us to negotiate the obstacles of growing up, at some point we may find that our habitual patterns no longer serve our true selves. The psychotherapeutic relationship provides an opportunity to recover and elaborate what has been forgotten; in the end, it points toward a life of increased intimacy and authenticity.

In addition to working in private practice, I am Department Chair and an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Golden Gate University. I am also a Faculty Member at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC), the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (NCSPP), a Personal and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC), a Training Analyst at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis (SFCP), and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at University of California San Francisco’s Medical School.

I have published several books, including Eating Disorders: A Contemporary Introduction, Understanding Anorexia Nervosa in Males: An Integrative Approach and Psychoanalytic Treatment of Eating Disorders: When Words Fail and Bodies Speak, as well as numerous articles in prominent journals. An up-to-date list of my publications is on my faculty page. In addition, I was the guest editor for a special issue of The Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy that focused on the psychodynamic treatment of eating disorders and a special issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry that focused on rehumanizing mental health policy and practice. I am also the former Executive Director of the National Association for Males with Eating Disorders, a Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Eating Disorders Association, and maintain a blog on Psychology Today about eating disorders. I have been interviewed on a number of podcasts including IPA Off the Couch and Technology and the Mind and have written for Aeon and Psyche, among others.

My training as a psychologist has been diverse. I have worked in community mental health clinics, a hospital, and private practice settings. In addition to five years of doctoral education, I am Board Certified in Clinical Psychology (ABPP), trained as a psychoanalyst through the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California, and a Fellow of the International Psychoanalytic Association. I also am a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist – Supervisor (CEDS-S) and one of the few psychologists practicing in the Bay Area who has been awarded this designation.