Moderator

Quick note about site moderator: Currently a psychotherapist, I have worked with children, both full-time and part-time in a few contexts, cities, and countries. Prior to being a psychotherapist, I was a teacher in Harlem; an instructor for summer recreation play programs in the Midwest; a mentor for high-needs and high-functioning students at a Center for Gifted and Talented Learners (where I'd been a participant myself); as well as a Male Nanny/Therapeutic Caregiver for affluent children in NYC, Paris, and Los Angeles. I have a master’s degree from the University of Chicago focused on mental & behavioral health interventions, and a master’s degree from the European Graduate School in Switzerland focused on psychotherapy & philosophy. (Additionally relevant to this site, I've spent time studying human expression, connection, & aesthetics at Stanford University and the Juilliard School.) I am a past fellow with the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and was part of the 10,000 Best Young Minds Program with the American Psychoanalytic Association. While much of my theoretical influences are relationally psychodynamic, the focus of my second master’s degree was largely Third Wave Behavioral interventions (DBT, ACT, FAP, etc...); additional modalities that interest me are Intrapsychic Humanism, Internal Family Systems, and Interpersonal Neurobiology; regarding play therapy, I tend toward a non-directive approach aligned with Gary Landreth's guidance. That being said, I think this forum will be well-served by us all taking an integrative approach, welcoming and supporting all modalities, all interventions, both non-directive as well as directive. Let's see what works best for everyone! :)