Consultations

Few things in life are more vulnerable than having a child or family member in psychological distress. Whether your loved one is suffering from severe depression, an eating disorder, addiction, psychotic symptoms, or another emerging psychiatric condition, families benefit from professional support to care for themselves and intervene effectively in a mental health crisis.

I provide families emotional support as well as tangible direction and treatment resources to consider in helping their loved one.

This usually begins by providing psychoeducation to help families better understand the mental suffering of their loved one and the different treatments available. Space is also held for families to process their own complex emotional reactions, which often include re-activated trauma, shame, resentment, confusion, grief, and anxiety.

I assist families in practicing healthy communication skills, setting boundaries, and committing to their own wellbeing as they intervene for their loved one in need.

The labyrinth of our mental health system is daunting, sometimes even dehumanizing, and it can be difficult to know who to trust and what care is effective, affordable, and necessary. For over a decade I have been worked with some of the leading treatment centers in the country for eating disorders, addiction, and primary mental health and have seen first-hand which programs offer quality care and where families can be lead astray. After fully reviewing your loved one’s case presentation I assess urgency and level of care needed, and connect families with direct referrals to well established, reputable institutions that provide the highest quality care.

I also provide consultation for outpatient care, including individual clinical referrals and psychoeducation regarding therapeutic modalities best suited for your child or loved one’s needs. I have no current affiliations with any hospitals or treatment centers.

My sole concern is supporting you and your loved one in finding the right, ethical, and effective treatment to heal.

Consultation is provided to clinicians in my areas of specialization including trauma and eating disorders.

I provide psychoanalytic conceptualizations as well as “bottom up” somatic understanding and interventions.

I support clinicians seeking deeper psychoanalytic understandings of personality structure and developmental levels, and offer insight, interventions, and containment to assist consultees in moving through clinical impasses, untangling difficult counter-transference dynamics, managing crisis, and navigating other complex clinical presentations. I also consult on evaluations for higher levels of care and assist in locating appropriate referrals for high acuity patients.

All of us make, and are made by, stories.
Our understanding of mental health can be profoundly shaped by the stories the popular culture tells ( or sells.)

I enjoy providing mental health commentary and analysis of culture and current events for a variety of journalistic and creative endeavors. Consultation services can include psychological insight for accurate, layered, and non-stigmatizing or sensationalizing depictions of mental illness and treatment in television and film. I also consult with documentarians and productions on trauma-informed best practices to create safe working environments and sensitive ways of telling stories of survival and recovery.

I recently served as a consultant to the writer’s room of Homeland on bipolar disorder and trauma for multiple seasons, and am currently the mental health consultant for a show in development with Amazon which grapples with questions of psychosis, creativity, and trauma. I also provide collaboration with intimacy coordinators for best practices on film sets to protect vulnerable performers.

I am passionate about supporting institutions in becoming more trauma informed. Consultation and curriculum is available for keeping staff and protocols current on empathic and sensitive trauma informed care.

I am currently developing a training for local neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to better meet the needs of parents during one of the most traumatic times of life.