Caregivers --including adult children of  aging parents, ACOA’s, spouses of substance abusers, and therapists-- value my warm, collaborative style and respect for each individual's unique ways of adapting to life  transitions. Many of my clients are successful professionals who have had personal or family histories involving alcohol abuse, and many grew up in families where other kinds of family dysfunction took its toll.

Through my books, lectures and teaching, I have  trained and supervised 100s of clinicians in group, individual and couples therapy. I teach what I love about my work - helping clients to feel more empowered in relationships, to improve self-esteem, and to deal with family-of-origin issues, communication problems, life transitions, anxiety, depression, and self-defeating behaviors (including addictions).

As former Director of the Substance Abuse Outpatient Clinic at McLean Hospital, I have helped family members to cope with the pain of chaotic and unpredictable lives, to find more effective ways of intervening to help their loved ones, and to improve the quality of their own lives.

I have  a special interest in helping her clients understand and deal with the complicated feelings and emotional upheaval often associated with major transitions in their own lives and those of family members (marriage, divorce, empty-nest, retirement and bereavement).