|
|
Opening up to a stranger can be one of the most vulnerable parts of therapy. I know this personally because I have done and continue to do my own therapeutic work. I firmly believe that therapists should have their own therapists. Our growth matters too. My lived experience in the therapy chair informs how I sit with you: with humility, empathy, and deep respect for your courage.
My Clinical Orientation:
Identity & Values:
- I have been working professionally in the mental health field since 2014 and consider myself a seasoned trauma-informed therapist. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Oregon, California, Washington, and Idaho. I earned my Master of Social Work from San Jose State University, where my training centered on mental health through a Transcultural Perspective, meaning my education was infused with attention to power, privilege, partnership, cultural humility, and positionality in every therapeutic relationship.
- Before graduate school, I graduated Summa Cum Laude with my BA in Psychology from SJSU. My combined psychology and social work training allows me to hold both the individual story and the larger systemic context shaping that story.
- Professionally, I have worked across levels of care treating severe anxiety disorders, complex trauma, substance use disorders, eating disorders, queer identity and relationships, disordered eating and body relationships, and young adults navigating identity and life transitions. I have supported foster youth in educational settings, community college students, and individuals healing from chosen family estrangement.
My Clinical Orientation:
- I am trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and I am a Level II AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) practitioner. Both modalities are experiential, relational, and deeply trauma-informed.
- AEDP centers on undoing aloneness and facilitating transformative emotional experiences in the safety of a trusted therapeutic relationship. IFS helps us understand the protective parts of ourselves that formed in response to pain and trauma, and supports compassionate internal healing. These models inform the heart of my work.
- I engage in ongoing consultation to ensure ethical, attuned, and high-quality care.
Identity & Values:
- As a member of the queer community, I bring lived experience that informs and deepens my therapeutic work. I came out later in life, at age 31, after a 13-year marriage to a man. Having experienced the world both through the lens of being perceived as heterosexual and as a queer person gives me a nuanced understanding of identity development, masking, belonging, grief, authenticity, and the complexity that can accompany major life transitions.
- I belong to the body neutrality community. I believe your body and its health are your business. Autonomy matters. You get to decide what wellness means for you.
- As a Gen-X therapist who has learned (and continues to learn) along the way, I will be transparent about the make mistakes I am aware that I make. I will acknowledge them and engage in repair. Therapy is relational, and repair is part of safety. I am open and always open to hearing about the ones you notice that I didn't.
- I identify as a person in long-term recovery. For me, that means I no longer use or abuse substances as I once did many years ago. It also means I no longer participate in diet culture cycles of restriction and bingeing after decades of trying to change my body for societal approval. These lived experiences inform my work and allow me to sit with others navigating addiction, food, body image, and shame with depth and compassion.
- My therapeutic stance is grounded in body neutrality, Health at Every Size (HAES), harm reduction, marginalized empowerment, and social justice. I believe deeply in equity and in the inherent worth and dignity of every human being.
- I am transparent about my political values because safety requires clarity. I hold progressive, equity-driven beliefs and advocate for the rights and dignity of marginalized communities. You deserve to know where your therapist stands so you can decide whether this is a space where you can feel safe enough to heal.
- I understand firsthand how complicated it can be to navigate questions of self, relationships, community, visibility, and safety while also untangling internalized expectations and shame. My approach is grounded in curiosity, cultural humility, and the belief that healing often begins in spaces where people no longer have to explain or defend who they are.
Take a Tour with me: |
Princess offered her love & support to my California clients pre-Covid. She crossed the rainbow bridge in July 2023.
|
Ding (as in, at your service) was brought into our home with hopes of entering the office to help humans with their emotions. She ended up needing an emotional support dog for herself!
|
|
|
