I grew up in Southern California just north of LA. I went to the Pacific Northwest to go to college, first at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma then University of Washington in Seattle. My undergraduate major was American History and Literature. After graduation I joined a VISTA-like program where I worked for a year and received academic credit, leading to a second BA in psychology. I went back to Los Angeles for graduate school at California School of Professional Psychology, completed my residence at Devereux School in Santa Barbara, and then moved to Portland, OR. I started a part-time private practice as soon as I got my license, 1982. I began teaching and supervising part-time at Pacific University School of Professional Psychology in 1983 and continued to work at an agency until 1993. Since 1993 I have been in full time private practice while continuing to teach and supervise at Pacific.
My private practice has always been primarily based on referrals from primary care providers. My interest in insomnia began in 2003 when one of my primary referral physicians asked what I could do for a patient who could not get to sleep. This led me to a review of the literature and a development of skills in treatment. I am now the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Consultant for Providence Sleep Disorders Clinic and was certified in behavioral sleep medicine by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in 2007. Even though most of my referrals are for insomnia, About half of these referrals have additional mental health issues, so the practice continues to be diverse.