Sharon M. Rivkin, a conflict resolution expert and licensed marriage and family therapist (MFT), has been in private practice for 27 years in Santa Rosa, California. She has a Master of Arts in clinical psychology and specializes in individual, couples, and family therapy. Sharon has supervised MFT interns, and prior to working in her private practice, spent 11 years teaching and counseling as a learning specialist with the Learning Skills Program at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California.
An experienced public speaker, Sharon has led workshops on intimate communication, the role of language in healing, and women in mid-life. In addition to her private practice, she will be teaching courses and conducting workshops using her recently published book, The First Argument: Cutting to the Root of Intimate Conflict. The First Argument received national recognition when excerpts of the book were featured in O: The Oprah Magazine in the United States and South Africa, and in Reader's Digest. Sharon's unique book has also been featured on radio shows from Sonoma County to New York City.
The First Argument is based on Sharon's extensive knowledge and expertise as a Marriage Family Therapist and her own personal experience. Through her private therapy practice, Sharon has helped countless couples not only resolve their conflicts, but solve the mystery of why the same issues keep arising. Her theory of the first argument has universal appeal and will work with anyone from celebrities, newsmakers, and politicians, as well as with straight or gay couples, men, women, children, parents, and bosses, employees and colleagues. She is married to Michael Howard and is the mother of two grown daughters, Talia and Tashina Kilburn. For more information visit www.sharonrivkin.com.