Education & Training

My training began at the Gunderson Borderline Personality Disorder Program at McLean Hospital, where I worked with young adults dealing with severe emotional dysregulation and self-harming behaviors. I completed my internship at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, working therapeutically with teens grappling with severe emotional and behavioral dysregulation. I then completed my postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA, where I received specialized training in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) as well as psychological and neuropsychological assessment.

Clinical Specialty

I specialize in diagnostic assessment, neurodiversity and DBT.

DBT is a highly effective and practical approach for treating conditions such as borderline personality disorder, PTSD, anxiety, depression, suicidal behaviors, non-suicidal self-injury and emotion dysregulation associated with autism spectrum disorders. I completed a two-year DBT postdoctoral fellowship as well as several comprehensive and intensive Behavioral Tech Advanced Trainings, including the DBT Prolonged Exposure Protocol (for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and DBT for Multi-Problem Adolescents. I am also trained in Radically-Open DBT and the Gottman Method.

I serve on several expert panels providing consultation on DBT and evidence-based practices and am part of a comprehensive DBT program developed and researched by Marsha Linehan, PhD. 

I completed my research, dissertation and post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA where I examined atypical local (detail) and global (big picture) processing and interventions for over-controlled clinical populations, including autism spectrum disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and eating disorders. As an Associate Professor at UCLA, I presented my research at numerous national and international conferences, including the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, and International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and the International Society for the Improvement and Teaching of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. I have also published in several peer-reviewed psychiatric and clinical psychology journals.