About

I am a certified massage therapist who chooses to work “outside the spa.” Deep relaxation always is a goal of my work, but it is rarely the only one. Instead, I do massage designed to be therapeutic on many levels, seeking in every session to promote healing and wellness – even for a client at the peak of health.

Very often, I combine modalities in a single session, mixing a technique like Swedish massage with some Shiatsu or acupressure to address a client’s specific needs. Much of my work is with people facing medical challenges, frequently those living with cancer, but my practice also includes athletes, pregnant women, infants and those who seek to maintain their good health. I see people with repetitive strain injuries, back problems, sore and tired muscles, headaches, and neck tension, to name a few of the usual suspects. Stress – the cause of so much physical and mental mayhem — is always a primary target of my massage.

I began my training in London, at the London College of Massage, while working as a foreign correspondent for Newsweek magazine in 1993. My massage work and training continued, even as I maintained a career in journalism, for many years. Today, though I devote the majority of my time to therapeutic massage, primarily in clinical settings, I work occasionally as a magazine editor and consultant.

After my early coursework in London, I completed certification at the Body Therapy Institute in Santa Barbara. It was during this period that a dear friend who had struggled with breast cancer for years became very ill for the last time. We discovered together that massage could be a source of comfort and healing — for us both. From that point on, I focused on training and experience that would provide benefits for clients with medical challenges, as well as those enjoying good health. In addition to Swedish massage, I am trained in acupressure, Shiatsu, oncology massage, chair massage and massage for pregnant women and infants. In 2009, I was certified under California’s new law to regulate massage therapy on a statewide basis.

Currently, I see patients at the Institutes for Health and Healing in San Francisco and Larkspur, clinics where massage therapy is one of a wide range of complementary medicine treatments available. I also provide in-room massage in the hospitals of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. Finally, I offer at-home massage to those unable to travel for medical reasons. Clients in this category can include pregnant women on bed rest, people debilitated by difficult medical treatment, or those receiving hospice care at home.