Prior to my professional work in Social Work, Clinical Social Work, and Psychoanalysis, I was a professional in the Hotel and Restaurant Industry largely overseas. I received my bachelor's at the Hotel School in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1983. Being a dual national of the US (1st generation polish immigrant mother) and France (Father) I and going back and forth between the two countries often, I found myself always questioning my identity and the lens with which I looked at life. Due to my professional work, I have traveled and lived in various countries around the world (Europe, Australia, China, India, and the US). I am married to a mixed Race Pacific Islander since 1986, and have two mixed race children. We raised our children in NYC and India. I have been back in the US for 11 years. In 2010 I decided to change careers as I became more and more interested in International Refugee work. I studied International Humanitarian Assistance at Fordham University and later obtained my Masters in Social Work there. During my Masters I worked in Addiction facilities with both adults and young woman and their children in NJ, and following my Masters, Family Homeless shelters and and a strengths based program for individuals struggling with recovery of severe mental illness. This program included a large deaf population. During this time I became interested in relational psychoanalysis and again studied and received my Certificate of Psychoanalysis in 2023 from the Manhattan Institute. Becoming very interested in attachment theory and the effects it has on human development, as well as transgeneralal trauma on depression, anxiety, complex PTSD, and dissociation I decided on further study at the Manhattan Institute where I am currently in my second year in their Certificate in Trauma Studies. My anticipated completion date is June 2025.