Services
About My Clients
I work with all human beings who are seeking to make meaning of ‘being’ human. I specialize working with queer individuals, adults exploring the expansiveness of their gender and sexuality, immigrants, refugees, first generation folks and those living with disabilities, visible or invisible. I also specialize in couples therapy, focusing on couples who are ready to work through communication and navigate relationship anxiety.
My Background and Approach
I take an integrative approach, combining Western psychotherapy with Buddhist-based mindfulness practices. Rather than focusing on eliminating symptoms (including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, poor concentration, etc), we slow down & bring curiosity to these adaptive responses. We honor that at one point, these responses were highly intelligent, yet we now recognize the pain they cause you. I work within a liberation psychology model. This model brings attention to all the ways oppressive systems (incl. white supremacy, colonialism, patriarchy) have structured our lives, our bodies, & our psyches. Together, we listen to what your soul is trying to express, all while examining the ways these systems show up between you & me. I have experience working with individuals struggling with suicidal ideation, self-harm, anxiety & depression, as well as supporting folks navigating systems of oppression, professionally or within relationship.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I believe that the modern psychology term, ‘trauma’ is just another word for ‘colonial oppression,' coming from liberation psychology. Soul wounding, or the disconnection from our own being, is how spiritual-based traditions understand trauma. Soul Wounds are the result of violence against deserving to be loved. We often think of trauma as a car accident or a sudden death. However, we forget about trauma as the painful wounding from early emotional neglect. When we are not provided the opportunity to tend to these wounds, we enact harm on ourselves, on each other and on our planet. Soul Work, in this sense, is the process of slowing down and trusting what’s happening between us with compassionate curiosity. It’s moving beyond the separateness and disconnection from ourselves, each other, the land and our ancestors.