Services
About My Clients
My clients are often stressed out and overwhelmed. They’re sometimes coming out for the first time or just starting to figure out their identity. I have a passion for helping LGBTQ+ folks recover from religious harm. We can sort through it all, to find you some peace and relief. Contact me for more info.
My Background and Approach
I know a lot, but so do YOU, so I always strive to be collaborative with my clients. Building self-compassion is a cornerstone of my approach. We are all so hard on ourselves! I am a secular-identified therapist, which means I keep religious practices out of therapy, but we might do plenty of discussing how religious practices may have impacted you or caused you harm and distress . I hold a psychology undergraduate degree from UC San Diego. My master’s degree (SDSU, Jan 2005) and professional license are in marriage and family therapy, so even though I don’t work with couples, my work with individuals often focuses on relationships with important others. I have a broad spectrum of experience including bereavement counseling, transgender mental health evaluations, intensive outpatient program, DBT skills teaching, and counseling military active duty and spouses.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I’m a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and an atheist-leaning agnostic who grew up in the Evangelical church. I work to acknowledge my social privileges and I am learning how to call out and work to disempower the structures that enable those privileges. I identify as feminist, I support BLM, and I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land (Kumeyaay). I love to learn, and I strive to maintain an attitude of curiosity. I believe self compassion is the key to progressing through many of our challenges. I also believe that safe and genuine human connection can be healing. I value integrity and authenticity. While you won’t get to know everything about me, you’ll get a sense of who I am. However, the boundaries I keep are just as important. Talk therapy involves an intentionally lopsided relationship, since it’s my job to take care of you and not the other way around.