I am a licensed clinical psychologist with a longstanding passion for science and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT). I am an author of more than 40 peer-reviewed and invited publications, and I hold the highest level of certification from the International Society of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (ISIPT). I am a certified therapist, consultant, and trainer with added qualifications (AQ) in Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT). I also serve on ISIPT’s Executive Board and co-lead the ISIPT Special Interest Group for IPSRT. I’ve been privileged and honored to share my expertise throughout the world through presentations and trainings, including in Iceland, China, and England, and consultations on research projects.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Cognitive Science from Hampshire College and a Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. I completed an APA-accredited internship at the New Orleans Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a two-year APA-accredited postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan.

My interest in psychology and mood disorders began at age 15 while attending a creative writing camp. There, an instructor introduced me to the poetry of Anne Sexton. With melodic rhyme and meter and sharp metaphors, Sexton vividly detailed her experiences of living with bipolar disorder, including postpartum depression. Captivated by her work, I later read her biography and learned that Sexton began writing poetry as part of a psychotherapy homework assignment — a fact that intrigued me as much as her poetry itself. Sexton often spoke of how psychotherapy and writing had been lifesaving for her. Yet, despite her writing and treatment, she was unable to experience a stabilization of her mood episodes and she died from suicide in 1974 at age 45.

In the 50 years since Sexton’s death, our understanding of mood and perinatal disorders has advanced considerably, and I am hopeful that today’s evidence-based approaches can help not only our poets and writers but also our not-so-poetic selves, family, and friends.