The training I have received at CPPNJ over the last three years has enriched my clinical work in ways I never imagined. I am grateful to be part of such a wonderful community,  as well as  for my analyst, faculty, supervisors, and fellow candidates, who helped me to grow both personally and professionally.  I felt particularly fortunate to have had the opportunity to move through the program with such a close and supportive cohort,  and for the friendships that we established.  I am so excited to have completed the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program, and I look forward to continuing my training in the fall as I begin the Program in Psychoanalysis.

I began my clinical work in 2001  as a school psychologist at a therapeutic school, while completing my doctoral program in Clinical and School Psychology at Hofstra University. For the past seven years I have worked full time as the Clinical Director of IEP Youth Services, Inc. in Freehold, NJ. In addition to administrative responsibilities, I provide individual, group, and family therapy for "at risk" youth and young adults, victims of sexual abuse and violent crimes, and provide sex offender treatment to youth adjudicated delinquent of a sexual offense. In addition, I conduct psychological assessments, including competency evaluations for the court, risk assessments, and psychosexual evaluations. Over the past four years I have developed groups open to the community, including social skills groups for youth and young adults with Asperger's Syndrome, anger management groups, groups for children and adolescents with sexually inappropriate behaviors (non-adjudicated), and a no-fee  LGBT youth support group.

I also maintain a part-time private practice in Highland Park and Freehold, NJ. In my private practice I work with children, adolescents, and adults. My areas of interest include PTSD and trauma, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, relationship problems, LGBT issues, and transition into adulthood. My work is primarily informed by relational theory, self psychology, and object relations. 

In addition to my clinical work, I served as co-chair for the Children's Interagency Coordinating Council (CIACC-Monmouth County) from 2011-2113 and currently serve on the board for the Middlesex County Association of Psychologists (MCAP), the Brookdale Community College Alumni Association, and on the Executive Committee for the Candidates' Organization of CPPNJ.

In my leisure time I enjoy playing racquetball, softball, golfing, reading, and gardening. I love music, art, travel, going to the theatre, and spending time with family and friends. 

I am so excited to graduate from CPPNJ and become a Psychoanalyst.  This has been my dream come true!  What I've learned and experienced through my classes, my supervisors, and my analyst, is invaluable.  I also met so many wonderful people over the past thirteen years.

In 1976, I graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a BA in Psychology.  I went on to get my MA in Clinical Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University as well and graduated in 1982.  In 1995, I graduated with an Educational Specialist Degree in Marriage & Family Therapy. 

I currently hold three licenses, and really hope that, one day, there will be a License for Psychoanalysts in NJ.  I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, and a Licensed Clinical Alcohol & Drug Counselor.

I began my career in 1984, working for a long-term adult residential substance abuse facility, Straight & Narrow, Inc.  I worked there for nineteen years and ended up directing numerous programs along the way.  I began working as a Counselor and facilitated groups.  I became a Clinical Supervisor and continued in this capacity throughout my tenure at the facility. I was the Assistant Director of the short-program, initially.  I directed two different women's program, one in Paterson, and one in Secaucus.  I was, initially the Coordinator and then the Director of the NJ Drug Court Initiative Program, overseeing seven vicinages.  I was also, initially, the Coordinator and then the Director of the NJ Mutual Agreement Program, involving a cooperative agreement between the Department of Corrections, the NJ State Parole Board, the Department of Health and Human Services, and Straight & Narrow, Inc.  I became the Director of the Short-Term 28 Day program and ran daily groups.  I did work for a short period of time as the Intake Assessment Coordinator for the Juvenile program.  Lastly, I was the Director of the Admissions Department for both juveniles and adults.

In 2001, the year I began my psychoanalytic training at what was formally known as IPPNJ, I began my private practice on a part-time basis while still working at Straight & Narrow, Inc.  After leaving the facility in 2003, I began working full-time in my private practice and continue to do so.  I do not work exclusively with substance abusers.  Opening my practice has allowed me to be able to work with a heterogeneous population, and I have welcomed this opportunity to do so. I work with adolescents, adults, couples, and families. While I used to provide substance abuse treatment for patients who received DUI's/D.W.I.'s through my affiliation with the Bergen, Morris and Passaic County Intoxicated Driver's Resource Centers (I.D.R.C.), I decided to no longer participate in this capacity as of two years ago.

I am an eternal student so I'm sure, after taking a well-deserved break, that I will eventually pursue additional training of some kind.  I am very fortunate to have my father, step-mother, and my four younger sisters in my life.  We are all very close, which I don't take for granted.  I have had a passion for music for the majority of my life.  I was in 4th grade at the time the Beatles came to the U.S.A. I feel so lucky to have grown up in that era!  I used to play the guitar, and look forward to be able to do so again in the near future.  I used to scuba dive and hope to resume this activity in the near future as well.  I exercise, and, while I enjoy the results, I don't necessarily enjoy exercising per se.  I am so lucky to be the owner of two absolutely adorable male cats who happen to be brothers.  They have great personalities.  They are very calm, very sweet, and very affectionate not only to me but with each other as well.  They bring me so much happiness on a daily basis and I never take them for granted.

My experience at CPPNJ has afforded me the opportunity to work with my patients in ways that I never dreamed possible.  In fact, I opened my private practice as a direct result of my involvement with this Institute and I will always be thankful about this. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to be part of a wonderful community.

When I began Columbia University School of Social Work in 1992 it was with the intent of pursuing analytic training. So, I am just delighted to be here with you 20 plus years later having completed the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy program. 

During the intervening years, I have worked in supported work programs and on inpatient psychiatry units. First at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City where I met my husband Tolga Taneli, and later in rural Fort Kent, Maine (population: 4000), where our sons Kaan and Eser were born. In 2000, I became accredited as a Certified Clinical Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Social Worker (C-CATODSW) through the National Association of Social Workers and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Throughout my career, I have drawn heavily on my experiences over 10 years of competitive swimming at the club, collegiate and Masters levels.

Tolga, Kaan, Eser and I moved to New Jersey in 2005 and in 2011 I opened my private practice in Morristown where I work with young adults, adults and couples with mood and anxiety disorders, work-place/career concerns, addictions, issues of sexuality, and couple distress. 

I enjoy cooking and eating, gardening, being outdoors, visiting museums, laughing and the everyday triumphs and tribulations of parenting Kaan and Eser with Tolga.

I look forward with great anticipation to continuing my analytic training and completing the couples therapy training program.

It is with gratitude, pride and excitement that I complete the 3-year program in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. I feel grateful for so many within the institute who have shared their time, wealth of knowledge and clinical experiences. This generosity enabled me to feel more much more comfortable, confident and effective as a clinician. I am enjoying this work now more than ever!

I graduated from Fordham University with an MSW in 2002 and began analytic training at IPPNJ in 2005.  I have been in private practice in Montclair since 2007. I have worked part time for the past nine years in a child and adolescent outpatient clinic in Jersey City. There I provide clinical supervision to employees and interns in addition to providing therapy to children and adolescents. I have enjoyed the opportunity to bring psychoanalytically based treatment to this population in Jersey City. Prior to this I worked at the Fifth Avenue Center For Psychotherapy in Manhattan. I have also taught at the Fordham's Graduate School of Social Service. When I began training in 2005 I did so based on observations of the work of others in the field. I found that most of those whose work I had admired and respected had been analytically trained.

My own training became temporarily paused as I focused on another hands on course in early child development with the birth of our second son! I returned a few years ago to CPPNJ not long after I began private practice. In addition to all the wonderful literature, analytic training also feels to me to be an oral tradition that is generously passed on to others through those who have come before. It feels to me a bit like a tribe where the more seasoned members tell stories old and new to teach the next generation of therapists. Without this generosity and passion this tradition wouldn't be nearly as rich or viable.

Thank you to the faculty who generously give both of their time and rich clinical experience to pass along this tradition to us.  I deeply appreciate the wonderful supervision I have received from both Sandra Sinicropi and Sally Rudoy. Thanks to my analyst who continues to be such a great support and model, allowing me to explore parts of myself safely and curiously. My fellow graduates, Paige and Margot have also been great companions on this journey.

Thank you to my wife Michelle, who has been so supportive through this process. She was particularly helpful in aiding to shield me from additional outside responsibilities during the third year exam and worked tirelessly with me to accommodate my classes by rearranging our already nearly unmanageable schedules. It's great to be a part of this community! Looking forward to more!

Completing the Three Year program in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy has been an exciting journey for me.  I found the overall experience of classes, supervision and analysis enriching and rewarding personally as well as and professionally. I value the relationships with friends and colleagues I have developed and the support and encouragement I have received from faculty. 

I graduated from Ithaca College in 1987 with a BA in Sociology, a minor in Social Work and a minor in Business.  After 2 years of working in the advertising dept. at a large publishing company, feeling unfulfilled and disconnected to the people I worked with, I quit my job and went to graduate school at NYU to get my MSW. 

Since finishing NYU School of Social Work in 1991, I have been working in the mental health field continuously.  After graduate school I worked in an agency, Project Rainbow, in Rockland County, NY for several years where I worked as a clinician with children and adolescents of parents who had problems with addiction.  I did a combination of group work and individual work with children, adolescents and some adults.  I left this job to return to NewBridge Services (formerly Pequannock Valley Mental Health Center) where I had completed my second year internship in graduate school.  This is where I grew up and developed a clinical foundation, worked as part of a team and had many different roles, responsibilities and training opportunities during the 8 years I worked there.  I began as a clinician in Child and Adolescent Outpatient Services, and as there were changes in structure, etc., I began working with all populations, supervising interns, supervising staff and running the Fee for Service Program. 

I completed a two year clinical training program in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents at The New Jersey Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis.   During the time I was doing the training (coursework, supervision, and a paper on a case), I was busy working at the above agency, doing some work for a group practice, starting my own practice and having a baby, my daughter Caroline,  who is now 13!  It was after I completed this training and after my oldest daughter was born that I left agency work to be solely in private practice in Morristown, where I live.  I have another daughter too, Noelle, who is now 10. In my practice I work with children (play therapy), adolescents (and their parents) and adults with relational problems, depression, anxiety and trauma.   

I have a passion for dancing, reading, yoga, laughing, spending time with friends or  my daughters, theatre,  the arts, creativity, music, kayaking , the beach,  the outdoors and finding pleasure and humor in every day moments. 

I feel so proud to be graduating from CPPNJ.  Indeed, I know it takes a village and that I would not be here if it weren't for my family, my remarkable classmates, and the talented faculty members with whom I have studied. My supervisors and my analyst have had the most influence on my development, and I feel privileged and honored to have worked with each of them.

I become a psychoanalyst because of my own transformative experience as an analysand. Although I had just received tenure as an Assistant Professor at a community college, psychoanalysis had introduced me to an intellectually challenging and rewarding discipline; and so after much soul searching and analysis of the transference, I returned to graduate school to begin the long process of retraining. In 1999, I received an MA in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University where I had a fellowship in their Center for Infants and Toddlers. In 2003, after completing an internship at St. Joseph's Hospital Outpatient Clinic in Paterson, I obtained a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Seton Hall.  I taught full-time after graduation as I worked in outpatient settings. I opened a full-time private practice in Pompton Lakes, NJ, in 2007 where I continue to work with older adolescents, adults, and couples.  In 2008, I completed a thirty four week program at the William Alanson White Institute in eating disorders, compulsions, and addictions. Last year, I started EFT training, and this year took my first class in CPPNJ's Couples Program.

I live in Wayne with my husband of forty-one years, Joe, and with Cooper, our mixed-spaniel rescue. Our adult daughter, Laura, lives nearby in Montclair, and we thoroughly enjoy "grand-dog" sitting while she completes her advanced clinical training as a radiation therapist.  Joe and I have become unabashed home bodies who enjoy the immediate gratification of Netflix and DVR. Add dark chocolate and a glass of red wine, and we are set for the night. We will leave our nest for a really good restaurant, Sunday football gatherings with extended family, and just about any production at Second Stage Theater. I look forward to learning how to relax again by practicing meditation, cottage gardening, reading novels, walking with "The Coop," and travelling far and wide.

I am very happy to be graduating, and to rejoin my cohort at the next level in CPPNJ.The first time I was aware of an interest in psychology was when I was 16 and was quite taken with the then-very-popular novels by Herman Hesse. That interest merged with another strong, and earlier-emerging, interest in performing, leading to my undergraduate major in Performing Arts, emphasizing character study and character portrayal, and to my first career as an actor/singer/dancer. As my life progressed and my inner world shifted, psychology per se took center stage, and I started graduate school at age 36, graduating with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University at age 43 (where CPPNJ Faculty Member, Nicholas Papouchis was Program Director and my first clinical supervisor).

My first job as a psychologist was in the Partial Hospital Program at Mid-Bergen Community Health Center in Paramus, NJ (now a Care One faciilty), followed by work with the elderly in Nursing Homes for Guardian Eldercare and Rossi Psychological Group, and with chronic, severely mentally-ill patients in Riverdale Manor, a psychiatric residence in the Bronx. I started analytic training at IPPNJ in Fall, 2001 in order to further prepare to do outpatient psychotherapy. After a brief stint at The Meadowlands Counseling Center, I opened my private practice in 2005. I am now in full-time private practice in Montclair, NJ, where I do individual and couples therapy with adults.

I value all that I have gained through my analytic training at IPPNJ/CPPNJ -- the growth in my ability as a therapist and the deepening and strengthening of my sense of self through the coursework, supervision, and personal analysis, and the many rich personal connections I've made with classmates and faculty members.

I fully expect to continue to deepen and grow as I continue my learning, now as a new member of the faculty.

I am pleased to be among the first candidates graduating from CPPNJ's program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.  I appreciate the support that I have received from the faculty, my colleagues, and my family.

I graduated from Columbia College with a BA in psychology in 1987.  After my research-oriented undergraduate education, I welcomed finding a psychodynamically-oriented graduate program in clinical psychology at Yeshiva University.  I graduated with a PsyD in 1990.  My training included work in various inpatient and outpatient settings, ending with an APA-approved internship at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in East Orange.  Following graduation, I became licensed as a psychologist in New Jersey and New York.  Subsequently I worked at The Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders in Livingston and then at the Meadowlands Center for Counseling and Psychotherapy in Secaucus.

I currently have a private practice in Montclair where I see adults and adolescents with a range of issues including depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, and relationship conflicts. I look forward to continued involvement with the CPPNJ community.