Hello there!
Hi, I’m Claire. I’m a licensed Clinical Psychologist, and I specialize in helping women explore and navigate the complex emotional rollercoaster of modern motherhood and womanhood. A mom of two myself, I know intimately the ambivalence that comes with parenthood during the time of life where women are typically just starting to find themselves. It can be as if we are being grounded mid-flight, suddenly disrupted and in scarily foreign terrain, disrupting what we thought we knew about ourselves. And yes, we may love it (at times :)). Yes, we may have asked for it. And, yes - it can really knock us completely freaking sideways.
Along with my own lived experiences (and therapy to understand them!), my work with others is informed by my doctoral-level education and extensive training in feminist therapy, attachment relationships, and perinatal mental health. The majority of my practice focuses on mothers who feel anxious, embarrassed, guilty, and/or discombobulated by what motherhood and its demands has stirred up in them, as well as on women grappling with complex relationships in their lives. I work from a relational and attachment-based perspective, meaning that I believe that our blueprints for our relationships with ourselves and others have been shaped by our experiences with our early caregivers - and I use that lens to explore collaboratively with my patients their reactions to themselves, others and the world around them.
Many people who seek therapy with me struggle to:
- Acknowledge and accept (aka, not judge) their ambivalence about motherhood
- See themselves as “good enough”
- Disentangle their sense of selves - who they are - from who they think, or have been told, they should be
- Navigate complex relationships with their own mothers (or sisters, partners, etc)
- Engage in, and tolerate, healthy conflict
And therapy can really help. That’s why I’m here - not just to listen, but to actively support you in finding a clearer, more confident sense of direction in this newest iteration of you.
If you are ready to stop spinning, I’m ready to help steady you. Let’s get your feet on the ground.
Where I Practice
In-person and virtually in PA, and virtually in all PSYPACT States:
AL, AZ, AR, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NC, ND, OH, OK, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Education and Training
Education
WIDENER UNIVERSITY, INSTITUTE FOR GRADUATE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Master of Arts: Clinical Psychology
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Bachelor of Science, Summa Cum Laude:
Journalism
Training
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, DR. BEATRICE BEEBE: MOTHER-INFANT ATTACHMENT RESEARCH
POSTPARTUM STRESS CENTER: THE ART OF HOLDING PERINATAL WOMEN IN DISTRESS
POSTPARTUM SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL: PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH CERT COURSE
THE SALOME INSTITUTE, CLINICAL TRAINING CERTIFICATION IN ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY
LA SALLE UNIVERSITY, STUDENT COUNSELING CENTER
PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY TREATMENT TEAMS
THE THERAPY CENTER OF PHILADELPHIA
CAPITAL HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER
WESTTOWN SCHOOL, STUDENT COUNSELING CENTER
License #: 018935
