Certified Teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion
ABOUT ME
Curiosity and seeking meaning are driving forces in my life. I've always been interested in people and their behavior. I want to understand human beings as a group and as individuals. What makes us tick? Why do we do what we do? How do we make sense of all this? How can we best deal with the the difficulties of being human while bringing out what’s best in us? How can we find freedom and liberate ourselves from unnecessary constraints and limitations? These are the driving forces that led me to live a life along a road less traveled as an expat and outsider.
As a professional, I inhabit different roles and work in different contexts: psychologist, therapist, professor, trainer, and facilitator. In all these roles I’m deeply committed to facilitating growth and development. I have devoted my entire working life to applying psychological and behavioral science to help others learn, develop, heal and grow. (You can see my professional history here). The longer I've worked with people, the more I've come to appreciate our human strengths and frailties. I've been impressed again and again with our human resources and resilience - the deep wisdom and energy that lies within each of us waiting to be developed and called forth. I am profoundly inspired by the proven, transformative alchemy of mindfulness, purpose-guided engaged living, and self-compassion. These are the pillars for my clinical work and trainings.
I provide clinical services through Psychological Services International in Bangkok, Thailand using an experiential-behavioral approach to psychotherapy, specializing in trauma, emotional regulation, intercultural adjustment, dislocations, transitions and resilience. I work from an integrative, experiential-behavioral model focusing on using applied mindfulness skills to help my clients make their lives fulfilling and meaningful. Practical applied mindfulness- the present moment awareness of what is happening within and around us, right here, right now as we live our daily life- is a foundation of my clinical work.
I have been practicing mindfulness personally since 2004 and sharing mindfulness with other since 2013. I am honored to be a certified teacher of Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff’s remarkable Mindful-Self Compassion training course. I attended the Mindful Self-Compassion program as a participant in 2016 and am now a certified teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion; I was the first certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher in Thailand and regularly teach mindfulness and self-compassion in English and in Thai. These skills are simple to learn and practice and begin to produce immediate changes in participants’ daily lives. At the same time, as the skills strengthen over time, they can also take participants on a journey of growth and discovery to truly live life to the fullest.
Having spent decades trying to understand the most effective, scientifically valid and practical ways that people can realize their full potential in daily life, I am passionate about the concrete and simple skills taught in the Mindful Self-Compassion training course. I work to integrate self compassion into all aspects of my work. I'm incredibly honored to be a faculty member of the Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy online training program for therapists, where I teach alongside Chris Germer, Kristin Neff and an amazing group of experts.
In addition to being a therapist and lecturer, I'm frequently involved in providing trainings for non-profit, corporate and humanitarian clients on resilience, adjusting to change, and managing uncertainty. I also volunteer to help organize and lead mindfulness retreats and trainings for Thai healthcare professionals and people serving their communities locally.