My approaches and philosophies:

I believe that we have to feel safe enough within ourselves and in our environments to take the next steps towards creating the sorts of lives we want for ourselves.

Trust and safety are essentials for any kind of relationship, including the therapeutic one. I could sit here and tell you to “just trust the process”, but that isn’t effective for most people. Building a felt sense of safety and trust takes time, conscious work, and it usually isn’t done in isolation. A key approach I take in working with clients is first acknowledging that I can’t make anyone feel anything, including safe. I am committed, however, to showing up consistently and with curiosity, modeling healthy boundaries while still being relational, and supporting clients to feel empowered for themselves.

I believe that symptoms deserve being heard rather than extinguished, there is meaning in our dream images and waking symbols, our unconscious is just as important as our conscious minds, that our nervous systems and physiology also have a language, that we can unlearn and rebuild, relationships effect us, that we hold complex and conflicting parts of our Selves, and things that are often seen as disease and disorder are actually differences and we need to learn how to work with them.

My work is rooted in and informed by attachment theory, intersectional feminism, depth psychology, somatic and nervous system therapies, psychodynamic, and relational approaches. Cultural humility, LGBTQIA+ affirming care, environmental, social justice, and politically-related experiences matter in the therapy hour as much as outside the therapy hour.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been trying to figure out what it means to be human. As a kid and teen, I was interested in identity exploration, trying to understand why people are the way they are, and fell into my first sociology class as a young adult at community college. It was in this class, Sociology of the Family, that I was compassionately challenged and offered a different lens in which to understand my own world view and how I moved through it.

Apparently, that was enough for me to switch my major from History to Psychology by the next semester. You mean I could take classes that focused on my interest in humanness? I mean, practically, I knew that was possible. But once I knew that path was for me, there was no going back.

I’ve earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Clinical Psychology, have been practicing as a therapist since 2010, and licensed since 2015. Some of my formal training includes:

• Various workshops and lectures from the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, including certificate programs in Current Topics in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Sandplay

• Polyvagal Theory and Therapy with Steven Porges and Deb Dana

• Advanced-Level Somatic Experiencing Practitioner program

• ADHD and Autism Assessment training with Jamie Roberts

Theory and academic education are just a few parts of the puzzle for me when it comes to how I show up as a therapist. Being a client myself in therapy and having my own lived experiences also shape and inform how I work with clients. I know what it’s like to be in the client’s chair. I know what it’s like to understand myself in deeper and different ways. I know how messy, difficult, complex, and scary self-understanding and acceptance can be at times. I know what a relief it can be to be believed, validated, and supported.

My identities are also part of what shapes me as a therapist and, for many of my clients, are important things to know. I am a white, cis-gender woman who is an ally, friend, family member, therapist, and colleague to people in LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and AAPI communities. Social justice and ongoing anti-racist work are important to me both in and outside of my work as a therapist.

I am also a late-in-life identified neurodivergent woman. Through my own process of personal and professional exploration and discovery, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of developing a neurodiversity-affirming worldview, the strengths and differences that come with different neurotypes (particularly Autism, ADHD, Highly Sensitive People, and complex trauma), the protective factor and consequences for high-masking adults, and why disability justice matters.

I’m a parent who specializes in helping adult survivors of childhood trauma thrive. I deeply understand the very complex process of being an adult, recovering from childhood trauma, and actively creating a relationship with my inner child while trying to be the sort of mom I want to be now. So, yes, while I am a parent, I will curiously and openly make room for you to process your experiences with your own parents or family-of-origin, judgement free.

I’ve lived with chronic illness, including type 1 diabetes, for most of my life. While I do not specialize in chronic illness, I am informed by how chronic illness, invisible illness, and disability effect mental health, sense of self, and identity.