The Work

I bring over four decades of experience in both Psychiatric Nursing and Depth Psychology in private practice and teaching. My deep understanding of the images used by Psyche (the active voice of the unconscious) via dreams, active imagination, in art, and mythology supports my ongoing work with individuals and in numerous classes. My theory of transcendence supported by the holographic mind model recognizes the multi-dimensionality of the individual along the soul’s journey.

Training

After graduating from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, I entered an early period of intensive clinical and psychoanalytic formation at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where I served as staff development director of the Child Psychiatric Hospital. During this period, I was accepted into psychoanalytic training and undertook intensive personal analysis, meeting four times weekly with Anne Stewart, MD. Stewart had herself been analyzed by René A. Spitz, the pioneering psychoanalyst and child-development researcher who had undergone analysis with Sigmund Freud.

While at Eastern Virginia Medical School, I also pursued psychoanalytic studies and earned my certificate in Adult and Family Physical Assessment from Old Dominion University. I later completed an MS in Nursing at Wichita State University and a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. This early psychoanalytic foundation evolved through my subsequent engagement with Jungian and depth psychology, dream, fairy tale, myth, and the imaginal.

Professional Life

My professional roles span clinical inpatient and administrative practice in community, military, and private psychiatric hospitals. As an officer in the US Navy, while on active duty, I participated in the military psychiatry residency program. My private practice started in 1987, upon leaving the US Navy. Currently, I am active with the Kansas City Friends of Jung, previously serving as their vice president. I currently teach and have taught numerous classes on Depth Psychology, Fairy Tales, and study groups on a variety of Analytical Psychology topics. In addition, I host a Writer’s Group.

Away from the Work

In my personal life, I enjoy the fascinating roles of wife, mother, and grandmother. In my spare time, I write poetry, attend live theatre, and the Kansas City Symphony. I also love gardens, the woods, and nature’s beauty.