Experience

I have been practicing in Brookline for over twenty five years. I have always felt that being an empathic psychotherapist and psychoanalyst are helped by having varied life and educational experiences. Before I attended Northwestern University Medical School, my undergrad degrees were in literature, as well medical science. I had a serious investment as a musician, and later furthered that interest in obtaining a master’s degree in musicology at Brandeis University. My residency training at Beth Israel Hospital and the other Harvard Medical School Longwood area hospitals exposed me to varied approaches to patients by some of the best psychiatrists and therapists in the country. My next step in training to become a psychoanalyst by training at the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute.

It is a core value of mine to nurture the upcoming generation of clinicians. I have enjoyed teaching regularly for years at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital as well as the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute. My roles with the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute initially expanded to being a member of the Board of Trustees and spearheading efforts to expand psychoanalytic perspectives being taught to trainees in other mental health fields. I am currently the Immediate Past President of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society, and look forward to continuing to help it—the oldest and largest psychoanalytic society in the country—educate clinicians and the community about the value of psychoanalytic ideas.

I have enjoyed living far outside the city in a rural community with my wife and raising our three daughters there. Time with my dogs and other animals we care for has been vital in keeping me active and outdoors as a complement to the more intellectual work I do as a doctor and therapist. I also train regularly and compete in longer distance triathlons. Even though this is a highly physical pursuit, it also creates space for more meditative experiences that keep me energetic and in tune with my own emotional inner life, so I am ready to engage fully with my patients.

What is Psychoanalysis?

While the field of psychoanalysis started with Sigmund Freud about 120 years ago, it is a dynamic, alive, constantly updated specialty for mental health clinicians. The field of psychoanalysis has scores of peer reviewed journals, rigorously organized training institutes, and national and international organizing bodies. It is typically reserved for patients who have longstanding personality or relationship problems, or those who feel cut off from their experiences and sense of who they are. Others feel that they are living below their potential or are stuck and unhappy in their lives.  Most patients who start psychoanalysis have tried other, less intense approaches such as psychotherapy, coaching, or self help groups. Psychoanalysis itself is an impassioned commitment, with sessions typically three to five times per week, for several years, with the idea of ‘leaving no stone unturned’ around what has caused problems in relating or functioning. It is also a considerable financial commitment, due to the time required and it typically not being covered by health insurance.

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Selected Credentials:

  • Private Practice in Psychiatry 1994+
  • President and Faculty, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute
  • Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry, Part time, Harvard Medical School
  • Consulting Staff, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Board Certified in Psychiatry by the America Board of Psychiatry and Neurology 1996+
  • Board Certified in Addiction Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology 1998-2008
  • Residency in Psychiatry: Beth Israel Hospital and the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program
  • MD degree: Northwestern University Medical School 1992
  • MA degree: Brandeis University 2005
  • BA, BS degrees: Northwestern University College of Arts and Sciences 1990