Services
- Individual
- Couples
- Adolescent/Teen
About My Clients
Maybe you have been told that you need to be smaller. Thinner. Quieter. Less angry. Take up less space and be less demanding. I work with mostly women and queer, trans and non-binary folk who are tired of being told they are "too much." I believe that no one is too much, and that attempting to squeeze ourselves into a too tight box is damaging. Currently, my case load is 40% teens and 60% adult.
My Background and Approach
I have a master's degree in counseling psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Before becoming a therapist, I worked in drug and alcohol rehab, as a peer counselor, and for years with autistic children and families. I am trauma informed (going slow with challenging material), psychodynamic (paying attention to how the past influences the present), and client-centered (I follow your lead). I'm heavily influenced and motivated by social justice principles, and I like to bring in mindfulness and somatic awareness during session. Mostly, I provide a space where you can be deeply heard.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I believe human beings need healthy attachments, and many of our feelings of depression, hopelessness, anxiety, etc. come from some kind of disrupted attachment. We also live in culture that is hyper-individualistic, and encourages a kind of avoidant attachment style. Many of my clients struggle with intimacy and finding good relationships. Therapy is a place to re-learn how to create secure attachment. I spent my twenties as a Buddhist nun, trying to be "independent" and "not be attached" to people. Although I did experience some calm in meditation and through communal living, eventually I came to see that true satisfaction lies not in rejecting human connection, but by engaging with it. Through my own therapy and my relationships with loved ones as an adult, I've come to appreciate the messiness, complexity, and joy of really being in the world with others.