about

For as long as I can remember I have felt a connection with the helping professions. I am a lifelong volunteer; as a pre-teen I volunteered at children’s hospitals and tutoring programs. As a college student I interned at residential schools for behaviorally challenged children and homes for runaway teenagers and as a graduate student I worked with convicted offenders with chronic mental illness. As an adult I have been involved with Pets on Wheels, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and Ronald McDonald House, Art with a Heart, Girls Empowerment Mission and other nonprofit groups.

I attended American University and received a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Sciences majoring in both psychology and sociology. My fascination with human behavior and my concern for the human condition led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Community Planning. I received my MSW with a concentration in clinical social work in 1981. Following graduate school I completed a Certificate Program in Social Administration from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Community Planning. This program provided an additional dimension to my understanding of human behavior and dynamics.

Professionally, I have been providing goal-oriented and effective individual, couples and family therapy since 1981. I have provided evaluations and treatment for a wide range of presenting problems as well as adoption and surrogacy evaluations and co-parenting skill development. Throughout my career in clinical social work as a psychotherapist it has been apparent that many clients, regardless of their age, struggle with the emotions of fear, sadness, anger, anxiety, shame, loss and guilt related to separation and divorce. To make matters worse, the traditional litigated divorce system seems to exacerbate the emotional trauma and create costly roadblocks to reaching agreements by fostering distrust, anger and a lack of cooperation. The traditional route is about winning but, ironically anyone who has been touched by divorce knows that no one really wins. This realization prompted me to pursue and complete training in Divorce Mediation and Collaborative Practice. Both Mediation and Collaborative Practice provide alternatives to the traditional system where agreements are reached with the help of trained professionals facilitating open communication and creative problem solving without going to court. I encourage you to read more about the range of services I provide.

Professionally, I am a member in good standing of the National Association of Social Workers(NASW), a Board Certified Diplomate (BCD) by the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work and a member of the International Association of Collaborative Professionals(IACP). I am an active member of the Howard County Collaborative Professional Practice Group,
and The Collaborative Roundtable at Baltimore (CRAB), all collaborative practice affiliations in the area.