ABOUT ME

Born in Northern Ohio (the oldest of four children), I grew up in a small town of two thousand sassy farmers.  I was named after my great-grandfather Michael, who reportedly had the first Ford dealership in the State of Ohio (he ran it out of his hardware store).  Eventually, I escaped the farm and made it to the big city of Cincinnati, where I earned a B.A. in Personnel and Group Development.  I spent my junior year abroad at the University of Bath (UK) and my spring break that year studying photography in Moscow (USSR).

After graduation, I moved to London (UK ) where I managed a punk clothing store and sang in pubs.  During much of my 20's and early 30's, I lived in Egypt, Denmark, France and (the former) Yugoslavia.  After returning to the USA, I worked in personnel and human resources and then earned a Master's Degree in Developmental Psychology while interning for "Sesame Street" in New York City.

In San Francisco, I was the Clinical Director for the Homeless Children's Network, earned my second Master's Degree and was a Middle School Counselor in the San Francisco Public Schools.  In San Diego, I've worked as a licensed psychotherapist for Kaiser Permanente (Point Loma Psychiatry), San Diego Hospice and Psychiatric Centers at San Diego.  I opened my private practice in 2002.