Work, Education, & Professional Affiliations

My License

I am a licensed psychologist in the state of California. You can view my current licensure status at this site and search for me by name or license number: CA PSY21284.

Here is a copy of my current license to practice.

I have a strong passion for public service, and this is demonstrated by my wide and varied roles on various Boards and Committees:

Education

I received my PsyD in Clinical Psychology from CSPP-Alliant International University, San Francisco, CA in 2003. My dissertation research was on Investigating Bias in Psychotherapy with BDSM clients. I did my postdoctoral work at CAPS at Vaden Health Center at Stanford University, where I continued to work for five additional years before fully committing to private practice.

Service

I am the founder of Open Minds: Psychotherapists Affirming Sexual and Gender Diversity. I served on the Advisory Board for Without My Consent and The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance. I served on the Ethics Committee for the California Psychological Association, since 2013 and finished my service as Vice Chair (2018) and Chair (2019). The California Psychological Association’s members twice nominated me to be their state representative on APA’s Council of Representatives (2015 – 2020). I was nominated as Member At Large for APA’s Division 42, Psychologists in Independent Practice (2015 – 2018) representing nearly 6000 psychologists nationwide.

Research

While not affiliated with an academic institution, I have an ongoing interest in doing research, frequently about unexplored topics. This is unfunded and in my free time. If I have an overall interest, it is in finding out more about issues that are not being spoken about, whether it be sexual margins, uncharted territory in ethics & boundaries in psychotherapy, and other intersections between ethics, online media, and mental health. I am deeply committed to making my research findings available to all, before final results are published in academic journals, which can take many years.

Awards

2011 Presidential Citation for the Website Committee of APA Division 42, Chair of Website Committee and Digital Director.

2012: Awarded “Best of the Independent Practitioner,” for my article Creating a Social Media Policy for your Private Practice.

2015: Recognized as a Fellow of APA Division 42. Fellow status is an honor bestowed upon APA members who have shown evidence of unusual and outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology. Fellow status requires that a person’s work has had a national impact on the field of psychology beyond a local, state or regional level. National impact must be demonstrated.

2018: Janet Hurwich Advocacy and Leadership Award by Alameda County Psychological Association for founding Bay Area Open Minds. The Janet Hurwich Award for Leadership and Advocacy was created to recognize and honor an ACPA member who has promoted leadership and advocacy on behalf of the profession of psychology and the communities we serve.