In 1979, after I completed my post doctoral fellowship at the Hastings Center in New York, I took a break from academic teaching. I volunteered in a rural village in the Peruvian Andes called Cochas Chico. There I helped native artisans start a craft co-op to sell their woven works and carvings. This experience was transformative for my life. I realized that as much as I enjoyed teaching college, I did not want to be an academic. I found so much meaning in helping people make their lives better. When I returned to the United States, I pivoted from the academic side of psychology to becoming a practicing therapist. The experience in the Peruvian Andes was transformative for my life in another way. I met my husband there! He was traveling in Peru after finishing his graduate degree at Berkeley.
My therapy practice inspired me to become an author and a blogger. My recent book is the groundbreaking A Disease called Childhood: Why ADHD became an American Epidemic (Penguin/Random House Group), which was critically acclaimed. I have written many blogs for the Huffington Post and Psychology Today. I have also consulted for People Magazine (August 22, 2011), Parenting Magazine (November, 2011) and Natural Health Magazine (Sept./Oct. 2012) on issues of child development and how to parent happy, healthy children.
These days, I am very excited to have a role in the forthcoming documentary film, ADHD is Over, by Hollywood director Roman Wyden. The film will be released in late 2021. It is full of wisdom from parents as well as leading psychiatrists and therapists. To listen to a podcast about the film click here.
I have had a private practice in Westlake Village, California for 22 years. I truly enjoy helping children, teens, couples, and families solve difficult problems and live happier lives. I learned a brief therapy approach from the pioneer family therapist Jay Haley, who trained and supervised me, and I try to limit therapy to as few sessions as it takes to solve the problem.
I have been married for forty years to my husband Gene, and we have three grown children and four grandchildren. We live in Oak Park California. In my leisure time, I enjoy ocean swimming, boogie boarding, reading, and spending time with my grandchildren Theo, Huck, Monty and Juniper.
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