My understanding of people has grown through years of treating clients with a wide assortment of difficulties. I believe that remaining current with relevant scientific findings and clinical literature enhances my clinical work. I also believe that training young therapists at four universities has sharpened my thinking about how psychotherapy helps people, as well as improving my skills in conducting therapy. A decade doing psychotherapy research also has deepened my understanding about how psychotherapy works. I use a combination of psychodynamic, interpersonal, and cognitive treatment approaches, tailored to your personal situation.

My approach to treatment is individually tailored to your style of dealing with emotional and interpersonal issues, as well as the particular problems you want to address. In developing your treatment plan, I select methods from a variety of established treatment approaches. Each session will incorporate these methods into an ongoing conversation between you and I about past and present experiences that are relevant to your issues.

Issues I Treat

• Emotional symptoms, such as depression and anxiety
• Persistent conflict in important relationships
• Difficulty developing satisfying relationships
• Emotional stresses associated with divorce and other life challenges
• Grief and loss
• Life transitions
• Unresolved childhood traumas
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Personality disorders
• Issues associated with careers in the arts, entertainment, the professions, business, and industry
• Narcissism
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Treatment Plan

Together we will develop your individualized treatment plan during the first one to three therapy sessions. Each treatment plan consists of:

• A clear description of the issues that we will be focusing on, as well as your associated life circumstances.
• A strategy for working on these issues, formulated by understanding the role they play in your personal story.
• Recommendations about how you can use the understanding we gain in each session to work on the identified issues between sessions.
• Specific goals that we want to accomplish by the end of treatment.

Duration Of Treatment

My specialty is short-term psychotherapy. I try to conduct treatment as efficiently and effectively as possible. Research has shown that many people can achieve significant benefits within weeks or a few months. More complicated issues will take longer to achieve the desired results.

Credentials

Education, Advanced Certification & Honors

• Contributions to the field of psychology have been recognized by election to status of Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Georgia Psychological Association.
• Clinical expertise has been recognized by election to status of Fellow of the Academy of Clinical Psychology.
• Board Certified in Clinical Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology.
• Undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan.
• Doctorate in Psychology with a specialty in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan.

Clinical Positions Held

• Director of adolescent and adult inpatient programs of a Psychiatric Hospital in Nashville, TN
• Director of the outpatient services of a Community Mental Health Center in Charlottesville, VA
• Chief Psychologist of a Community Mental Health Center in Howell, MI

Academic Positions Held

• Clinical Professor of Psychiatry (Current), Vanderbilt University Department of Psychiatry. Nashville, TN
• Instructor (Current) for the Nashville Center for Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
• Professor, Program Chair, Dean, Georgia School of Professional Psychology. Atlanta, GA
• Research Associate Professor of Psychology, Vanderbilt University Department of Psychology. Nashville, TN
• Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Virginia Department of Psychiatry. Charlottesville, VA
• Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry. Ann Arbor, MI

Scholarly Works

• Presented at professional meetings — nationally as well as in Europe and Scandinavia — on the topics of psychotherapy practice, training, and research.
• Authored or co-authored numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed articles.
• Acted as reviewer and editorial consultant for numerous professional journals and publishers.

Books

• Core Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy: Becoming A Highly Competent Brief Dynamic Psychotherapist, with Ephi Betan (Routledge, 2013)
• Key Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy: Clinical Practice Beyond the Manual (Guilford, 2004)
• Psychotherapy In A New Key: A Guide to Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy, with Hans H. Strupp (Basic Books, 1984)