Clinical Degree: Kansas State University, Couple and Family Therapy

Prepare/Enrich Certified:  YES

Available: Friday (daytime).

Fees: $140/50-min session; $210/90-min session

Clinical Special Interests: Depression and Anxiety; Grief and Loss; Communication Issues; Adult Self-Esteem; Cross-cultural and interracial couples and families; Transition to Adulthood

Contact: Email [email protected]; Phone 240-752-7650, ext 7

My Background

Originally from Brazil, I was trained as a Clinical Psychologist. While in the United States, I got both my Master’s and PhD degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy, from Kansas State University. I am thankful for having clinical training and experiences working with clients of various cultural backgrounds and presenting problems. I am a collaborative therapist, working from a strengths-based approach, and I do believe clients have the inner potential to make meaning and overcome challenges they are facing. I feel honored to help clients through the process of (re)gaining voice in their own lives and relationships.

I enjoy working with couples, individuals and families, especially when dealing with life transitions, such as transition to adulthood, mid-life issues, immigration, and other challenges that pose them in a position of redefining what they want for their relationships and for themselves. I also have experience working with clients dealing with mood disorders, anxiety, grief and trauma. I am particularly interested in helping clients see their own potential for growth and resilience

In addition to being a licensed graduate therapist in MD and independently licensed in DC, I provide clinical supervision and teach graduate students in the Couple and Family Therapy Master’s program at the University of Maryland, College Park. I have published peer-reviewed articles in a number of scholarly journals focusing on issues such as intimate partner violence, diversity issues, resiliency in military families, singlehood among Black women, and alcohol dependency and its recovery process among Brazilian couples. I am a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT), I am an Approved Supervisor through AAMFT, and I hold professional membership with the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR).

About Me

I love being a therapist and I see the therapeutic process as an opportunity for self-discovery and healing. My training providing therapy services in multiple settings, such as school, home-based family therapy, community health center, and university counseling center, have helped shape who I am as a therapist: compassionate, caring, curious, and nonjudgmental. As a therapist, I do my very best to help clients take a deep look at their inner selves and identify their strengths and potential for growth. When I am not working, I love cooking, reading, listening to music, doing yoga, and spending great time with my son Arthur and my family.