I am a registered psychologist in the province of Ontario. I obtained my Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in 1991. Before I moved to Peterborough in 1991 with my husband and children, I had worked as a psychologist elsewhere in Canada and in the United States, England, and in several countries in Latin America. On meeting me you might tell right away that Spanish is my first language, but I’ve lived speaking English for so many years now that Spanish feels more like my second language.
My primary area of clinical expertise concerns the mental health needs of children adolescents and families. I have been working for many years with very complex family situations, entrenched parent-child conflict and the abundance of ways in which generational patterns of emotional pain and abuse complicate and curdle family relationships and child development.
There are almost as many ways of feeling troubled and stressed as there are people and families. Often we feel overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, tired, have problems sleeping, experience anxiety and fears or perhaps anger and pain. When parents and families experience conflict, children might feel confused, angry, sad or resentful and this might impact their self-esteem and their ability to learn, concentrate, and self-regulate their emotions. Often, children and adolescents express their distress with behaviours that might cause disruptions if not chaos in their day to day experiences at school, in their social interactions and in their relationship with significant adults in their lives.
My work is to help families strengthen their parental and family relationships and to find practical solutions to often complex issues. It is often exceptionally helpful to foster proactive ways of communicating thoughts and feelings, which can then lay the groundwork for changes in patterns of behaviour that might have become disruptive. I will help you reflect on how to create changes, to gain insight about your attitude towards yourself and others and help you look at yours or your family’s experiences with a different perspective that will empower you and assist you in building acceptance, a positive healthy attitude, and resilience to overcome painful and adverse events in your lives.
Change and recovery require a few ingredients which are a fundamental part of my work with people. I am a strong believer in the uniqueness of each individual and work to motivate change and facilitate personal growth. By providing a warm and supportive therapeutic environment I help clients explore their thinking and emotions to get a better understanding and insight into their own behavior. It is very difficult to take the first step to seek counselling to address the difficult and complex emotions that often are connected to painful memories or stressful events in our lives. I will encourage you to address these issues with warmth and care and will support you in finding ways to cope, embrace change and look ahead. I offer an emotionally safe environment that is caring, empathetic and respectful of individual differences and I work hard to help others find their own strengths and potential for growth and emotional well being.
I welcome families experiencing issues of separation and loss, issues of cultural integration and adjustment, adoption, childhood abuse and neglect. I provide psychological and psycho-educational assessments, individual and family therapy. I work with children and adolescents who are experiencing adjustment issues due to anxiety, depression, anger, trauma, social, emotional and/or learning disabilities.
Mensaje en Español
Tambien me gustaria extender mis servicios de evaluacion y terapia clinica a adultos y familias con ninos y adolescentes de habla hispana que requieran el apoyo o la ayuda para lidiar con problemas emocionales tales como la ansiedad , la depresion, conflictos de conducta y aprendizaje, tambien como dificultades de relacion personal, traumas psicologicos, adaptacion intercultural de ambiente o de relacion, y stress. A veces es dificil dar el primer paso para solicitar ayuda, sin embargo este puede ser el principio de un proceso de desarrollo personal que lo (la) lleve a conducir una vida mas satisfactoria, positiva y de bienestar emocional. La terapia puede ser conducida en ingles o espanol dentro de un marco de entendimiento, calidez personal, honestidad, y completa confidencialidad.