top of page

About Me

I have been practicing therapy since 2012.  I began my career as a therapist at the Women’s Therapy Center in Berkeley, CA, where I participated in a two-year intensive training program in Relational Psychotherapy from a social justice perspective. Since then I have been working with domestic violence and human trafficking survivors and their children at a local shelter in Long Beach, CA.

When I'm not at work, I enjoy practicing amateur landscape photography, curling up with a good sci-fi or fantasy book, and cuddling with my rescue greyhound. Many of the photos on this website were taken on my photo safari adventures.

Education & Training

Women's Therapy Center 2-Yr Training Program in Relational Therapy, 2012-14

 

California Institute of Integral Studies, 2010 - 2013

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, emphasis in Somatic Psychology

Professional Affiliations

CA Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (CAMFT)

United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP)

Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH)

Somatic Therapy

Somatic psychotherapy is rooted in the belief that the mind, body, and spirit are interconnected and that healing occurs by addressing all parts of a person’s lived experience. Traditional talk therapy is blended with interventions that bring awareness to physical sensations, non-verbal communication, movement, and gesture.

So, what can you expect in a typical session? In addition to traditional talk therapy, I may invite you to:

  • Explore your here-and-now experience through the use of mindfulness, imagery, and tuning into your physical sensations

  • Become aware of your non-verbal communication such as posture, gesture, facial expression, or breathing

  • Participate in guided imagery or meditation

  • Use supportive touch (either self-touch or applied by me), to calm your nervous system and decrease feelings of aloneness and overwhelm

 

This attention to both the body and mind can increase your feeling of safety and being in control of the intensity of your emotions, relieve stress, resolve trauma, and deepen a sense of connection to yourself and others.

Relational Therapy

At its core, relational therapy is rooted in the belief that healing happens within relationship, which means that the therapeutic relationship is in itself a tool for change. 

I work hard to create client-therapist relationships that are collaborative, affirmative, secure, and strong. In our work together we will explore patterns within your relationships to self and others through the lens of your personal cultural context (race, class, gender, sexuality, spirituality).  

 

bottom of page