I am a board-certified adult psychiatrist and completed residency in 2015 from Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC.  My first priority is to establish a collaborative relationship with you that is built upon safety and trust.  In fact, the strength of the patient-therapist relationship is the most significant predictor of treatment outcome.  This is best summarized by therapist Dr. Allan Schore, "A patient’s emotional growth depends on the therapist’s ability to move, and to be moved by, those that come to him for help.”

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I prefer an integrative approach to care which can include a combination of medication and therapy.  In fact, advances in brain imaging demonstrate that medication and therapy are both biological treatments that work synergistically to restore balance to the brain; medication via chemical changes and therapy via increase neural connectivity.  This rewiring of the brain occurs because therapy provides a new learning experience through which we can explore the meanings attached to past experiences and how those meanings influence your perception of the present.  In therapy, we will explore your childhood in order to establish links between your early life experiences and current dysfunctional beliefs (i.e.  "I'm not lovable", "In general, you can't trust other people", "Others won't be there when I need comfort and support").  For more information, see Why taking an early childhood history matters? 

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In 2021, I completed training with the International Society of Schema Therapy and am working towards certification.  Schema therapy is an integrative and evidence-based treatment that includes elements of cognitive-behavioral, emotion-focused, attachment and psychodynamic models.  The word Schema comes from the Latin word Schemata which means theme or script and certain schemas develops when specific core childhood emotional needs are not met.  These core childhood emotional needs include safety, stability, love/nurturing & attention, empathy and validation of feelings and needs, autonomy, realistic limits, acceptance & praise, and playfulness.  Together, we will identify the scripts that developed as a result of your unmet childhood needs, understand which scripts are currently interfering with your life, and help you heal those emotional wounds.  For example, if your caregiver was abusive/neglecting, you may have internalized a defectiveness schema (among others) and believe that you are inherently flawed, "defective", and "not good enough."  One way to avoid the emotional pain of this defectiveness script might be to overcompensate in your professional life by needing to be "number one" and "perfect."   We will work towards incorporating more effective ways of having your emotional needs met.

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Additionally, I have had training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy; 1 year of Somatic Experiencing therapy; Exposure and Response Prevention (EXRP) for the treatment of OCD at UPenn; neuroscience-based interventions for anxiety and depression; and have completed an intensive trauma certification course. 

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I hope that this has provided you with some information regarding my approach to treatment and training qualifications.  I am happy to answer any other questions you may have so that you can choose the right treatment setting for you. 

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