Infertility, New Parenthood, Sexual Dysfunctions

My Approach

Psychotherapy is not easily described in general statements. It varies depending on the personalities of the therapist and the patient and depending on the particular problems that the patient brings. The more experienced the therapist, the more artistry is involved and the less the therapy is likely to conform to a protocol or cookbook method.

I am trained as a clinical psychologist under the Boulder, scientist-practitioner model, which means that I pay a lot of attention to the science behind psychotherapy while the style I use to conduct the sessions is relaxed and intuitive. Both cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal theories inform my practice.

The cognitive-behavioral part of that description means that habitual ways of thinking are the main target to aim for when trying to change unhealthy emotional patterns. The mind/body connection emerges when we realize that thoughts and feelings occur in the body as neurotransmitters, and these influence disease and health. The interpersonal part of that description refers to the importance of relationships in determining emotional health. We all both elicit and react to others so understanding how thoughts and emotions contribute to what we give and receive from our most important relationships is another very important target in therapy. Each of various elements contributes to the whole and interacts with others in determining emotions and choices-the targets of therapeutic intervention.

Credentials

• Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kentucky (1986);
• Licensed practicing psychologist and certified health services provider by the North Carolina Board of Psychology;
• AASECT certified sex therapist;
• Former clinical assistant professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
  
  
• Membership in the following associations helps me keep up with the latest advances in my field:
• American Psychological Association
• North Carolina Psychological Association
• National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology
• American Association of Christian Counselors
• American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT)
• International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH)
• Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA)

Personal - Biographical Sketch

I grew up all over the world. When I was four and a half, my dad joined the foreign service, and our family embarked on a great adventure. I lived in Tunis, Tunisia first; then Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay; Bangkok, Thailand; and finally San Salvador, El Salvador.

The experience prepared me in a unique way for a career as a psychologist. In fact, recent research suggests that people with this kind of global background tend to wind up as communicators and mediators. Understanding others from diverse backgrounds just seems to be the "family business".

After attending high school in the U.S., I came to Durham to attend Duke University, where I majored in English and Psychology. I graduated with honors and went to the University of Kentucky for my graduate education. There, I became interested in behavioral medicine and did a dissertation on postpartum depression in couples. I found that adjusting to the birth of a first child can be difficult for men as well as for women. This is far from the biologically determined, hormone driven response it is widely assumed to be. Research done since then has confirmed my findings.