Counselor. Psychological and Spiritual Consultant. Writing Consultant.

(On- and off-line)

The Association for the Integration of the Whole Person (AIWP) is a non-profit, non-denominational spiritual organization. Within it, and under its auspices, I offer an interactive and intuitive listening for people who seek to know and understand themselves, to experience themselves directly and profoundly, in an emotional, introspective, and supportive environment. My listening has been influenced by more than three decades of work with psychoanalysis, meditation and spiritual study

In my conversations with people who come to consult with me, psychoanalysis remains a significant background to my thinking. I am influenced by its concern for childhood and the importance of dreams. Beyond that, I find myself out on my own, finding the distinctive language of each person who comes to speak with me. Together, I feel, we are at a crossing point into what is not yet known about women's psychology and, even more broadly, the human psyche. It is an adventure with no guarantees, but with abundant moments of clarity along the way. It is definitely not therapy, in which a person who is ill comes to consult with an expert who provides a treatment. There are no experts here, no people who are ill, no treatments. There are two people (and sometimes more) talking together in a deep, focused, collaborative way, about all relevant concerns, including life itself. [Many of these concerns are discussed in: The Hungry Self; A Different Kind of Listening; Reinventing Eve]

Recently, with the development of Internet technology, I have been working on-line with people, consulting about the issues they might otherwise discuss when in the same room with me. I love this approach; it allows me to work with people who live at a distance or might prefer more psychological distance than is possible to achieve face to face. This type of work calls into play aspects of the self that can only become known through the act of writing. I've been astonished at how well it works to spontaneously discuss life, personal problems, all sorts of dilemmas, spiritual and otherwise, through the written word. Using writing as if it were speech, a thing made in the moment to communicate directly and urgently--what an unusual form of conversation this becomes, breaking down the traditional distinction between writing and talking.

My other serious work is as a writing consultant, helping people embark on, conceptualize, work with and through the problems that arise in the course of a writing project.