Licensed to practice in Ohio and accepts 31 insurances. Specializes in Coping Skills, Family Therapy, Foster Care/Adoption and 3 more.
(he/him)
I was raised in a working class family of five children in New Jersey where the 4th of the five of us was adopted. I am the oldest of the five. I retired May 2026 as the Grace F. Brody Professor of Parent-Child Studies at the Mandel School (Social Work), Case Western Reserve University. I have been an educator since 1987 and have practiced with families, mostly office based starting in 1988, then home based, and with the new technologies I have been working virtually. I am a licensed social worker in Ohio. I was previously licensed in Iowa. I have worked in residential treatment for children and outpatient mental health for adolescents and adults. I have owned and operated Adoption Partners LLC over 20 years, working with families who are thinking about adoption to post adoption support and case management. I participate in searching records to help adopted people or siblings of adopted people to make connections/gather family history. Wherever you are in your adoption journey, I am here to help. Since 1991, I have been involved in various child welfare technical assistance, research and training projects in the US (Oklahoma, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland), Romania, India, Ukraine, Guatemala and Ethiopia. In addition to my Master's of Social Work, I have a Doctorate in Sociology and Honorary Doctorate from the West University of Timisoara, Romania.
The first session is to get to know each other. I would want to know who is in your family and for you to tell me about your family-your strengths, what you do for fun, your interests and your adoption story. I want you to feel free to ask me questions about my work and how I might work with you. I would ask that you give the process 4 sessions and then we evaluate whether my approach is the right approach for you. If I am not the correct clinician, I am happy to work with you as you define what you are looking for in a therapist.
Being raised in a family where one of us entered through adoption is a unique experience that I bring to my work with families. I connect to the issue of loss, differences, and navigating difficult situations in family life. I teach structural family therapy to master level social work students because the evidence is strong for this approach. I also realize that not every approach works for every family. I rely of families to let me know that is work and what is not working. We are a team. I have worked with blended families, families in conflict and families who have troubled children. I use information that I have garnered from my practices experiences and my research to help families. I am not afraid to accept any individual or family with challenges. I have a number of years experience working with early to late adolescents through adulthood. Every person can change at any age and I would be glad to be part of your change.
I have practice with adoptive families for over 30 years. I had extensive experiences in other countries (Romania, Ukraine, India, Guatemala) so understand conditions affecting children adopted from these countries. I also have extensive experience with children adopted from child welfare systems as well as issues encountered with adoptees who are struggling during their development. I understand the adoptive family life cycle and adopted person development in the context of an adoptive family. In addition, I can work with clients of any age who are struggling and who are looking for help in resolving issues.
Top specialties
Other specialties
I identify as
Cash - $100 per session
Aetna
Aetna - Allied Benefits
Aetna - Luminare
Aetna - Moda
Aetna - WebTPA
Aetna – HealthEZ
All Savers
Amerihealth Administrators
Arlo
AvMed
Centivo
Cigna
Cigna - HealthEZ
EAP:Cigna
EAP:Evernorth
EAP:UnitedHealthcare/Optum
Evernorth
Golden Rule
GTEB
Harvard Pilgrim/UnitedHealthcare
Optum
OptumHealth Complex Medical Conditions
Oscar
Oxford
Surest (formerly Bind)
Tufts Health/Cigna
United Medical Resources
UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance
UnitedHealthcare Shared Services
UnitedHealthcare StudentResources
UnitedHealthcare/Optum
Structural Family Therapy
Everyone has e strengths and problematic areas. Changing the way an individual or family operates can change how problems function. It is about giving information, normalizing experiences, changing reactions and finding new ways to operate .
Supportive
Have conducted adolescent, adult and multifamily group using support and psychoeducational approaches to promote growth and change.
Strength-Based
Identifying and magnifying strengths, building informal social support networks, and confirming decisions.
Psychoeducation
Information can help normalize experiences to reduce feelings of isolation and increase your resilience. Resilience helps you problem solve and manage the situations you encounter.