About My Work

I am a native San Franciscan, born in the Mission District in 1948, and raised in the Bay Area. I became a licensed psychotherapist (license #MFT 12297) in 1978, and have been in private practice since then. I’m also a writer, and my column, "The Examined Life," appears regularly in Los Angeles Frontiers and the San Francisco Bay Times.

I believe that we find our happiness by knowing and fulfilling the plans, purposes, and dreams which make each of us unique – what in the Eastern spiritual traditions is called our dharma. My years of experience with Buddhist meditative practices has convinced me that psychotherapy and these spiritual practices have deep affinities. Both seek to expand insight and diminish suffering. Accordingly, in my work I use both traditional western therapeutic techniques and meditative mind training practices.

I’m committed to helping my clients develop the insight they need to overcome the conscious and unconscious beliefs that stand between them and their happiness. I work with people who take their lives seriously and who are willing to invest the time and energy it takes to overcome the obstacles to their success. I know that our work is done when clients no longer feel stuck, held back, or thwarted, and see instead their careers progressing, their relationships deepening, and their dreams taking form.