Clinical Psychology & Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is about making better sense out of things.
To those looking for help: To put it briefly, this kind of therapy works by consistently pointing out to you the subtleties of how your mind processes information. This leads to the realization that the patterns you're coming to therapy for help with are difficult to change because they're grounded in reasons that have been difficult for you to know. This a slow but generally quite a profound experience. It's also somewhat difficult. Just as in physical therapy or rehabilitation, the difficulty helps you know you're working and the gains are what keep you moving.
You'll find my credentials listed below. The process starts with a phone call during which we decide if it makes sense to meet for a consultation. A consultation consists of two appointments inside of a week and is a chance for us to meet and get a sense for one another. We make more decisions after that. Right now I take Excellus, Aetna, and Independent insurances.
You don't need to understand how psychoanalysis works to benefit from it. Doing psychoanalysis is different from leaning/teaching it. Regardless, psychoanalysis is intellectually fascinating and if you agree then this page may also be of interest.
Credentials
The credentials that support my practice are as follows: I hold a doctorate in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego which, in addition to my state granted license, qualifies me for the title of psychologist. I’m also a graduate of the five year psychoanalytic training program at the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center which grants me the title of psychoanalyst. The effectiveness of this work is reflected in its intensity, and the ethical and effective management of this intensity requires consistent engagement in a community of peers and mentors. Because there is not a psychoanalytic institute in Rochester, I present my cases weekly (and confidentially) to training and supervising analysts who live elsewhere in this country and abroad. I also participate in seminars led by these same teachers which focus on various themes central to the psychoanalytic literature. Finally, I'm a voting member of the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center and the American Psychoanalytic Association, and a full member of the International Psychoanalytical Association. I hope soon to bring psychoanalysis to a wider audience here in Rochester, and you can read more about those efforts here.