Words of Gratitude

None of us arrives at our work alone. I, too, have been shaped by family, teachers, mentors, therapists, supervisors, friends, and relationships along the way. I want to acknowledge some of the people whose love, presence, teaching, and challenge have become part of who I am and the work I do today.

First, my parents, for giving me life and for doing the best they could with what they had. I carry what they gave me with gratitude.

My siblings, with whom I have lived through difficult times and learned something about what it means to get through them together. There is a particular kind of bond that comes from having shared a history, including its hardships, and still finding one another within it.

My maternal grandmother, who survived the concentration camp and taught me some of my earliest and most enduring lessons about love. Through her life and her stories, she showed me that love and kindness can exist even in the midst of extraordinary darkness and evil. She also taught me something much simpler and equally important: how to be a friend. Her capacity for friendship, loyalty, and love has stayed with me throughout my life.

My children, Maya and Nate, who have taught me humility in ways I could never have anticipated. I entered parenthood with many ideas about the kind of parent I would be, and it quickly became clear how much I still had to learn. My children continue to reveal my edges, open my heart, and call me toward greater honesty and responsibility. They are among my deepest motivations to continue my own healing, to clear what I can of the ancestral burdens I carry, and to keep showing up.

My husband, David, who is one of the most exceptional human beings I have ever known. He has taught me a great deal about love, partnership, integrity, what strength can look like in relationship, and what it means to truly show up. To me, he embodies a deeply grounded masculine: strength that does not need to dominate, but instead shows up in service, protection, generosity, and care for others. I am profoundly grateful to walk through life beside him.

Mariola Pochwat, Adam Haller, and Olga Haller taught me so much about what really good Gestalt therapy can be. They helped me develop as a therapist and build the relational stamina to stay present, engaged, and in contact when the work becomes difficult.

Jennifer Jones, who first came into my life as a supervisor and a teacher and later became a dear friend, has encouraged me to stretch the way I see things, question my own conditioning, and look beyond assumptions I might otherwise take for granted.

Susan Levine generously supervised my clinical work for almost a decade. She showed me the very best of psychoanalytic practice—its depth, rigor, spaciousness, and capacity to hold the complexity of the human experience. I am deeply grateful for the generosity, wisdom, and care she brought to my development as a clinician.

Jed Yalof, who was my mentor, generously taught me so much. As an analyst, Jed also showed me the power of a grounded container. His teaching and mentorship remain an important part of the foundation of my work.

Philip Lister, my supervisor and mentor, taught me the art of balancing a strong mind with an open heart. He also showed me something profound about what a conscious and connected death might look like. He generously supervised my training until the very end of his life. I carry his teaching, his presence, and the way he lived and died with me.

Marina Toledo, who was my teacher in Family Constellations, helped me deepen my understanding of systemic and ancestral work, expanding the ways I understand what we carry and where it comes from. Marina also remains a true role model of strength and wisdom.

Manuela Raiz was the first person to translate the world of ayahuasca for me in ways that really made sense. I continue to be grateful for the ways our lives have intertwined and for our ongoing collaboration.

Maestro Ricardo Amaringo of Nihue Rao in the Peruvian Amazon continues to expand my understanding of what is possible in the realm of Spirit. He is a truly fearless medicine person with a fierce commitment to humanity. I am deeply grateful for his integrity, for what I have learned through his work, and for the profound trust I have in the way he carries it.

And my own therapists, especially Michał and Ellen, who showed up for me with such dedication, generosity, and patience.

And to my dear and loving friends: I would not have made it through some chapters of my life without you. You have held me through heartbreak, uncertainty, change, and difficult times; reminded me who I am when I have forgotten; laughed with me; told me the truth; and loved me through it all. You have taught me, again and again, that we are not meant to do this alone.

And finally, last but certainly not least, my clients. I am deeply grateful to my former and current clients for their trust, persistence, courage, and honesty, and for the ways they continue to show up for this work. It has been a beautiful and deeply meaningful part of my life to witness people in their transformation.

There are many others whose teaching, friendship, challenge, generosity, and presence have shaped me. I hold deep gratitude for all of you.

I have come to understand that we cannot heal ourselves alone. We need people who can meet us in our vulnerability, but we also need people who can see our strength, sometimes before we can see it ourselves. Whatever wisdom I am able to offer has been formed in relationship.