I have always had a strong interest in the mind, but my path to psychiatry was somewhat circuitous. After completing my undergraduate degree at Amherst College in Philosophy and Fine Arts, I initially accepted a fellowship to pursue a doctoral degree in philosophy, as I loved teaching and writing, and was particularly drawn to questions about consciousness, the mind, and personal identity. While I enjoyed this work, I ultimately left graduate school to study medicine, as I wanted a career in which I could have a more direct and substantive impact on others.
Following completion of premedical coursework at Tufts University, I moved to Chicago to attend medical school at Northwestern. While I had many clinical interests, I was most intrigued by psychiatry. I enjoyed learning about my patients and their individual experiences, and I valued psychiatry’s focus on improving quality of life. Additionally, I was attracted to the intellectual challenge and nuanced problem solving inherent to the field, and was fascinated to learn about the biological underpinnings of the mind and behavior.
Seeking strong and well-balanced training in both biological psychiatry and psychotherapy, I chose to stay at Northwestern for my psychiatry residency. During training, I treated a wide variety of complex conditions in the inpatient and outpatient settings, and pursued elective experiences in women’s mental health, addiction medicine, and sleep medicine. I also had instruction and supervision in a range of psychotherapies including psychodynamic, supportive, interpersonal, cognitive behavioral, and family and couples therapy. I currently have a particularly strong interest in the treatment of mood disorders including depressive and bipolar disorders. Additionally, I enjoy treating anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, trauma and stress-related disorders, and ADHD. In my clinical approach, I work with patients to develop a shared understanding of their unique experiences of symptoms, their particular strengths, and the various contributing factors underlying and influencing their symptoms. I then use this insight to build a personalized treatment plan, with the objective of maximizing each patient’s functioning so that he or she can pursue fulfilling and meaningful goals.
