Bio
Dr. B and her two children moved westward to get away from the bone chilling winters with grey skies, icy sidewalks as well as the extremely uncomfortable, humid summers of Philadelphia, her childhood home.
The beginning of her new life started when she settled in Oregon in 1977 when California was experiencing a drought. The expansiveness and openness, as well as the mild weather in the West stimulated the doctor’s sense of adventure. In addition, as a single parent, she found comfort in the sense of community. The discovery of new ideas offered a new lifestyle that was appealing.
After spending three years in Oregon, the Doctor moved to Marin County, California. The Bay area, with its natural air conditioning off the water, allowed Dr. B to live in weather, like Goldilocks, that was “just right, not too hot and not too cold.”
Dr. B spent the next ten years in Marin, pursuing a blue collar, non- female-dominated career for Pacific Bell. She set aside her teaching credentials to become a “frame technician” throughout San Francisco and Marin County. Dr. B enjoyed being physical which included climbing ladders, and she eventually found her powerful voice, releasing more and more of her true nature. She became quite outspoken.
As her tenure with “Ma Bell” continued, she realized something was missing in her life. As she questioned herself and consulted with some of her wise family members, the subject of psychology came to the surface. Dr. B knew she was drawn to the inner workings of human behavior and was led to pursue her studies into clinical psychology.
Three months after her daughter graduated from high school, Dr. B began her graduate studies at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. The goal was a Ph. D in clinical psychology. This meant writing a dissertation, which was a daunting process. Following the course work, practicums, and internship, she settled on a dissertation topic which evolved into “Young adults moving back home.” Related to the current economy at that time, this phenomenon seemed to be an evolving cultural movement in America. In fact, the doctor’s own son found it necessary to return home and she became more convinced than ever that this was a timely topic.
The degree was completed in December, 1992. There were still some hurdles ahead such as a post doc internship and written and then oral exams which were required for a license to practice psychology in the State of California.
During her Post Doc year, Dr. B was quite pleased that she was actually being paid for the first time in her professional career and training. She earned $6.69 an hour at Kaiser Permanente, Santa Rosa. Her training time at Kaiser was invaluable! She was introduced to her work in addiction, which would end up being her focus during her Kaiser career which lasted for 21 years.
On her last day as a Post- Doctoral Fellow, Dr. B was hired into the drug and alcohol team at Kaiser Permanente within the psychology department as a permanent employee.
Dr. B jumped into her new role at Kaiser, learning how to apply her knowledge as she treated patients.
It was a steep learning curve, since addiction treatment was a relatively new field for her. At first she was slightly intimidated by some of the “more disturbed” patients. She later realized during this time she tried “too hard” to get the patient to do as she instructed.
As Dr. B grew more skilled in practical application, her deep understanding of addiction and chemical dependency combined with her unique techniques, became transformative. This transformation was not only for herself, but for the patients she treated on a daily basis.
Dr. B discovered she had a natural talent for creating an ease of authenticity that developed into her unique style. She understood that the starting place with any patient was not to force them to conform to her expectations, but to meet them at the point of where they were. A relaxed, open and trusting relationship would develop, allowing for the therapeutic techniques to be applied when the patient was ready. This led to many successful treatments.
Dr. B worked for Kaiser for 21 years. During those years, she led both early and long-term recovery groups in addition to co-dependency groups. She directed the adolescent recovery program for 13 years and performed intensive family work, offering adolescent and parent group therapy.
She not only evaluated new patients, but she established an individualized treatment plan for each patient and/or family unit.
Dr. B was “on call” for the emergency room, assessing patients for safety in the middle of the night.
After retiring from Kaiser at the end of 2013, Dr. B desired to continue the work she loves in a different environment, one that would offer comfort and safety to patients in her care. She now offers a successful home practice in a beautiful and natural setting. Her experience and passion for treating patients successfully is now in full bloom.
The beginning of her new life started when she settled in Oregon in 1977 when California was experiencing a drought. The expansiveness and openness, as well as the mild weather in the West stimulated the doctor’s sense of adventure. In addition, as a single parent, she found comfort in the sense of community. The discovery of new ideas offered a new lifestyle that was appealing.
After spending three years in Oregon, the Doctor moved to Marin County, California. The Bay area, with its natural air conditioning off the water, allowed Dr. B to live in weather, like Goldilocks, that was “just right, not too hot and not too cold.”
Dr. B spent the next ten years in Marin, pursuing a blue collar, non- female-dominated career for Pacific Bell. She set aside her teaching credentials to become a “frame technician” throughout San Francisco and Marin County. Dr. B enjoyed being physical which included climbing ladders, and she eventually found her powerful voice, releasing more and more of her true nature. She became quite outspoken.
As her tenure with “Ma Bell” continued, she realized something was missing in her life. As she questioned herself and consulted with some of her wise family members, the subject of psychology came to the surface. Dr. B knew she was drawn to the inner workings of human behavior and was led to pursue her studies into clinical psychology.
Three months after her daughter graduated from high school, Dr. B began her graduate studies at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. The goal was a Ph. D in clinical psychology. This meant writing a dissertation, which was a daunting process. Following the course work, practicums, and internship, she settled on a dissertation topic which evolved into “Young adults moving back home.” Related to the current economy at that time, this phenomenon seemed to be an evolving cultural movement in America. In fact, the doctor’s own son found it necessary to return home and she became more convinced than ever that this was a timely topic.
The degree was completed in December, 1992. There were still some hurdles ahead such as a post doc internship and written and then oral exams which were required for a license to practice psychology in the State of California.
During her Post Doc year, Dr. B was quite pleased that she was actually being paid for the first time in her professional career and training. She earned $6.69 an hour at Kaiser Permanente, Santa Rosa. Her training time at Kaiser was invaluable! She was introduced to her work in addiction, which would end up being her focus during her Kaiser career which lasted for 21 years.
On her last day as a Post- Doctoral Fellow, Dr. B was hired into the drug and alcohol team at Kaiser Permanente within the psychology department as a permanent employee.
Dr. B jumped into her new role at Kaiser, learning how to apply her knowledge as she treated patients.
It was a steep learning curve, since addiction treatment was a relatively new field for her. At first she was slightly intimidated by some of the “more disturbed” patients. She later realized during this time she tried “too hard” to get the patient to do as she instructed.
As Dr. B grew more skilled in practical application, her deep understanding of addiction and chemical dependency combined with her unique techniques, became transformative. This transformation was not only for herself, but for the patients she treated on a daily basis.
Dr. B discovered she had a natural talent for creating an ease of authenticity that developed into her unique style. She understood that the starting place with any patient was not to force them to conform to her expectations, but to meet them at the point of where they were. A relaxed, open and trusting relationship would develop, allowing for the therapeutic techniques to be applied when the patient was ready. This led to many successful treatments.
Dr. B worked for Kaiser for 21 years. During those years, she led both early and long-term recovery groups in addition to co-dependency groups. She directed the adolescent recovery program for 13 years and performed intensive family work, offering adolescent and parent group therapy.
She not only evaluated new patients, but she established an individualized treatment plan for each patient and/or family unit.
Dr. B was “on call” for the emergency room, assessing patients for safety in the middle of the night.
After retiring from Kaiser at the end of 2013, Dr. B desired to continue the work she loves in a different environment, one that would offer comfort and safety to patients in her care. She now offers a successful home practice in a beautiful and natural setting. Her experience and passion for treating patients successfully is now in full bloom.