ABOUT ME

My background is first generation Dutch-Indonesian American. Two long, arduous ocean voyages to get to a new homeland were the central experiences of my childhood, the first at age 2 from Indonesia to Holland. At 15, another tender age, came the journey to America. Displacement and the task of adapting to a new culture and reality are experiences that define my early life and had a powerful effect on my psychological development.

I was the first child of parents who were separated as newlyweds by World War II and then held in Japanese prison camps in Indonesia for the war’s duration. I was born soon after their reunion. This historical fact ultimately awakened in me a keen interest in the intergenerational transmission of trauma, suffered by many. This refers to the idea, by now well researched, that severe, unresolved trauma is handed down from one generation to the next. Many children of parents who lived through war or other trauma, research suggests, are affected throughout their lives by disturbing unconscious material that is derived from the experiences of the previous generation, in whose “force field” they grew up.

Because my childhood spanned three continents, I also relate personally to the (commonly occurring) inner division between a survival personality bent on adaptation (in order to belong) and a deeply felt calling to discover, express and embody an authentic and unique inner self. Spiritual and psychological language refer to “a journey to the true self.” To this endeavor, I have devoted my life. Accompanying others who feel the desire to bridge their inner divide and who are willing to travel the path, a path toward wholeness, is deeply meaningful work to me.


Becoming a Psychotherapist

As is so often the case, life’s twists and turns and fateful choices are what finally put me on my own road to self-awareness. As a young mother, first of traumatized adopted little girls, then of a brood that expanded to five children, I turned often to parenting books to search for answers. The process of trying to be the loving and effective parent I felt my children deserved was quite difficult. Not finding sufficient answers, and after trying everything recommended, from family therapy to bonding with my adopted children through hypnosis, I eventually decided to look within. If I could not heal the pain of my oldest daughters, nor prevent the fallout of family distress on the young ones, then all that was left was to understand and work with my own reactions and choices. I realized I had to know myself first, and to learn about the healing process. This is how I became a therapist.

My Education

B.A. in Sociology from Sacramento State University 1970
M.A. in Counseling from Sonoma State University. 1986
Licensure as an MFT by the State of California. 1988

My Training in Depth Psychology:

During the first semester of my graduate education at SSU, I discovered the work of Carl Jung. Although Jung’s theories and therapeutic approach were not taught in my program, I was so inspired that I began to study Jung alongside my formal training immediately. For me the deciding factor in pursuing this path was its integration of the personal and the transpersonal or spiritual aspects of existence. I located the Jungian Senoi Dreamwork Institute, then a lively dream community in Berkeley, founded by the late Strephon Kaplan Williams. I studied dream work and Jungian psychology with him throughout the 1980′s. In the 1990′s I completed several excellent and impactful advanced trainings with Stephen Aizenstat of Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. My passionate interest in the psyche endures and I am always learning, from the writings of Jung himself, from teachers, and from the people I am privileged to work with.

My greatest teacher has been my own therapy. I am effective in my work with others, above all, because of the penetrating effect the therapeutic process has had in my own life. I had the great good fortune to find that person who is the right therapist for me. She is my guide and teacher. Her embodied wisdom, her truth telling and her open heart are gifts I learned to cherish. It is a powerful, healing relationship for which I am deeply grateful.

My Professional Affiliations

CAMFT, the California Association for Marriage and Family Therapists
RECAMFT, the Redwood Empire chapter of CAMFT
IASD, the International Association for the Study of Dreams
Depth Psychology Alliance, an online “global community for discussing Jungian and Depth Psychology.” at www.depthpsychologyalliance.com

I am no longer a registered member of the Collaborative Council of the Redwood Empire, but recommend its members for divorce mediation, co-parenting counseling, child specialists and financial divorce professionals. It was a pleasure working with this professional community for a number of years.

The International Association for the Study of Dreams has annual worldwide conferences where dream scholars, dream artists and passionate dreamers of all stripes gather annually. Together with three colleagues, I have presented at three of these conferences, in Berkeley, Chicago and North Carolina. Our theme is always: Dreams and Soul-making. Recordings of our presentations are available on the IASD website.