In addition to raising our family, I have worked with children, adolescents and their families as well as individual adults and couples for the past 30 years.  I have been a licensed clinical psychologist for the past 20 years.  In my previous career with a Masters in Special Education and Elementary Education, I worked as a Special Education teacher, Resource Specialist, and a High School Administrator as well as Director of Special Services for a high school district in the SF Bay Area. I have taught graduate classes at the University level and participated in panels as well as given presentations about child and adolescent growth and development.

I also have extensive experience in working with medical illnesses and cancer patients as well as their caregivers. The trauma of sudden loss of life sometimes can leave a patient or their family member with feelings of helplessness.  My work in the grief process with patients began numerous years ago at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, CA.   In 2014 I was a panel presenter for the Hearst Cancer Center "Survivorship Post Treatment Series" topic of the Emotional Effects of Cancer.  With my continued work in the oncology arena in 2013 I gave a presentation about the psychological effects of cancer to 150 participants at The Many Faces of Breast Cancer program in Walnut Creek, CA.