Connie DePinho

I am a Clinical Psychologist with over 35 years of experience working with people of all ages. In the past I have worked in outpatient and inpatient clinical settings, and school settings.

For the past 30 years, I have been in full-time private practice, where I have seen a variety of clients ages 16 and up, in individual, couples, or family sessions.

My typical client is someone who is working to meet the challenges of transition in their lives, such as going to college, getting married, deciding to divorce, changing a career, or losing employment, dealing with the death of a loved one, and unpredictable events in their lives.

I grew up in Africa, lived in Europe and came to the USA as a teenager. Throughout this journey, I have been exposed to a variety of people and cultures, and I speak Portuguese fluently. My varied life experiences, including living through a time of political and social upheaval and experiencing great losses and traumatic events, has taught me about the power of resilience, the importance of connection with others in times of extreme stress, and the great capacity for love despite all the hurt that can be inflicted upon us. Living through all of that inspired me to be a clinical psychologist in order to help others wo endure suffering.

Having witnessed a great deal of inequality in the education of young women in Africa, I run a nonprofit organization, AWEF.org, that raises money to educate them.

My training has been mostly within the psychoanalytic-psychotherapy model, including an intensive 4-year post-doctoral training in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. This model emphasizes looking at yourself and understanding of the issues that keep you stuck in repetitive patterns that although at one time functional no longer desirable to achieve what you are looking for in your relationships.

I see continuing education as being extremely valuable. I have completed additional training in traumatic studies through the Trauma Research Foundation. I am very excited about the work that has been done on the interplay of the body and the mind in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and traumatic effects. I integrate mindfulness and I encourage other methods of healing using the body to advance the work by participating in yoga, martial arts, dance, or walks in nature.

I am eclectic in my approach, borrowing techniques from cognitive behavior therapy, solution focused therapy, stress management and mindfulness, and internal family systems.

During the first session I focus on getting a detailed idea of what ails you. I offer a preliminary insight about the problem. I ask about your goals in therapy. I answer any questions you may have about how I practice and we set the guidelines for working together.