I earned a B.A. in Biology from Rice University. After finishing a Fulbright Fellowship in Madrid, Spain, I joined the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of Washington and graduated with an MD and PhD. I completed my residency in psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute.

I served as Outpatient Chief of the Addiction Medicine Clinic and trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Clinic. I was a Fellow in the UCLA Borderline Personality Disorder Initiative, where I conducted mentalization-based therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder and co-occurring disorders. After fellowship I was an inpatient psychiatrist for the Professionals Program at the Menninger Clinic. I also served as the Program Director of the Professionals Program prior to going into private practice.