I received my doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA, and I am a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist. My background also includes extensive training in several body-centered psychotherapeutic modalities, Gestalt Therapy, and a wide array of psychological orientations encompassing psychodynamic, humanistic/existential, cognitive-behavioral approaches, and depth psychology.
In addition to my clinical practice, I have been a core/adjunct faculty in the Master’s in Counseling Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco since 2001 teaching several courses including Therapeutic Communication, Psychotherapy Theories and Techniques, Research Methods, Movement-based Expressive Arts Therapy, and Men and Counseling. I have also taught several courses as an adjunct faculty at Saybrook University and Dominican University, and lectured at Sonoma State University and San Francisco State University.
Areas of current interest in teaching, research, and clinical practice include the field of interpersonal neuroscience, an integrative approach bridging attachment theory, brain science, the science of emotion, and interpersonal dynamics. My doctoral dissertation was a research project on Men’s Experience of Masculinity In Marriage and I am a contributing author in the books The Body Can Speak and In Praise of Poiesis, The Arts and Human Existence.
Originally from Brazil, I have been living in the US since 1991. I also have a degree and career in electronics engineering and worked as a software engineer specialized in database management applications. I was also the founder and CEO of a computer graphics service bureau that produced computer-generated images and 3-D animation for the advertisement industry in the 1980’s.
I am a husband and a father, which has given me both the joy of experiencing love and life fully and the responsibility to continuously push my edges towards growth and change.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
I belong to the following professional organizations:
International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (www.ieata.org), member since 1999
American Psychological Association (www.apa.org), member since 2001
Marin County Psychological Association (www.marincountypsych.org) member since 2004
California Psychological Association (www.cpapsych.org), member since 2005
Association of Family Therapists of Northern California (www.aftnc.org), member since 2010
Alameda County Psychological Association (www.alamedapsych.org), member since 2010
International Center for Excellence in Emotionally-Focused Therapy (www.iceeft.com), member since 2012
Northern California Center for Emotionally-Focused Therapy (www.ncceft.com), member since 2012