Clinical practice meets systems-level impact when we design programs that scale access to quality mental health support.
I'm a licensed clinical social worker who has spent the past decade bridging the gap between individual therapy and community-level mental health initiatives. My work focuses on making evidence-based tools accessible to the people and places that need them most.
I started in traditional clinical practice, providing individual and group therapy to adolescents and adults in outpatient settings. While that work was meaningful, I kept encountering the same challenge: the people who could benefit most from mental health support often faced barriers to accessing it, whether financial, geographic, cultural, or related to stigma.
This led me to focus on program development and training. If we could equip schools, community organizations, and families with foundational mental health skills, we could reach far more people than any individual clinician could serve. I began adapting clinical frameworks like DBT and trauma-informed practice for non-clinical settings.
Today, my practice has three main areas:
Program Development: I partner with schools and organizations to co-develop mental health curricula and training programs. This includes the DBT skills curriculum now used in eight school districts, trauma-informed training for educators, and family support workshops.
Professional Training: I provide consultation and training for mental health professionals navigating questions about technology, ethics, and evidence-based practice. The AI ethics webinar series is one example of this work.
Public Education: Through writing and free webinars, I translate clinical concepts into accessible information for families and individuals seeking support.
All of my work is guided by a few core principles:
Start with need, not theory. The best programs emerge from understanding what communities actually face, not from imposing theoretical frameworks. I spend significant time listening to stakeholders before designing anything.
Measure what matters. Impact should be tracked in meaningful ways. I prioritize outcomes that reflect real change: skill acquisition, confidence in application, sustained implementation, and reported improvements in well-being.
Remove barriers, don't add them. Programs should reduce obstacles to access, whether that means eliminating fees, translating materials, adapting delivery methods, or simplifying language. If a program creates new barriers, it's not serving its purpose.
Build for sustainability. One-off workshops rarely create lasting change. I design programs that can be integrated into existing structures, taught by non-clinicians when appropriate, and maintained without ongoing expert support.
Mental health care in the U.S. is defined by scarcity: too few providers, too little access, too many people waiting too long for support. We cannot therapist our way out of this gap. We need complementary approaches that expand the reach of evidence-based tools.
That doesn't mean replacing therapy or minimizing the need for clinical care. It means recognizing that foundational skills, psychoeducation, and preventive support can help many people who would otherwise go without any resources at all. It means equipping communities to support their own members.
When a high school health teacher can effectively teach DBT skills, when a parent can recognize the difference between typical adolescent stress and a developing mental health concern, when a school staff member knows how to de-escalate a student in crisis, we've expanded the infrastructure of mental health support beyond the therapist's office. That's the work I'm committed to.
Outside of clinical work, I'm a reader of social science research, a hiker when time allows, and someone who believes strongly in the power of accessible information. I live in the NYC area with my family and a dog who thinks every walk should last at least an hour.
I'm open to collaboration on projects that align with accessible, evidence-based mental health support.