Hi, I'm Mira. I am a psychology assistant working under the supervision of psychologist, Diana Santantonio. I have been practicing in inpatient & outpatient setting since 1975. I graduated from the University of Rome in 1972. I then went on to graduate training at the University of Massachusetts and Smith College.

My original training (in Europe) was in traditional Psychoanalytic Theory and Practice followed by further training in Gestalt Theory, Systems Theory and more short-term and direct approaches in the United States. I am grateful to have had such a solid and rigorous initial training but I am glad to have been exposed to more focused, goal orientated, time and cost effective modalities of treatment.

I enjoy working with people like you and me. People who may be experiencing a life crisis such as a loss through divorce, death or illness, or a new developmental phase such as marriage, remarriage, career change, children leaving home, aging parents, or retirement. All create a time of stress and confusion, which calls for a new level of self-awareness, growth and adaption.

I am most challenged by couple's work. I am a diplomat at heart and I enjoy assisting in the process of understanding the "other side" and negotiating. I often use a systems approach where the relationship, not the two individuals, is the patient. Couples' therapy is very hard work. Please don't come to us at the very last minute, don't ask us to fix what you already believe is beyond repair. If your spouse does not want to come, you come. The changes you make are bound to impact upon "your system." If one changes, the other's response may change.

In the last decade I have been very interested in seeing the development of psychopharmacology in the treatment of anxiety, depression and personality disorders. I've had to abandon many of my old beliefs about long-term and interpretative psychotherapy as the tool needed to address mood disorders. Soul and body, both need to be addressed. The combination of therapy and medication is the treatment of choice for many patients.

I have worked extensively with survivors of physical and sexual abuse. I am interested in women's issues. Throughout the years, many of my patients have been gay/lesbian youth, adults, and couples, as well as families of gay/lesbian children.

In the last three years I have developed a special interest in working with families of chronic mentally ill patients. Mental illness often has a devastating impact on family members. This is seldom addressed in psychiatric settings.

I am married and I have three children. I speak several languages and I travel any chance I get, to remind myself that there is a whole wide world outside the narrow confines of my therapy office. My multi-cultural background affords me the flexibility to explore new possibilities and different approaches as I live and learn.