My Approach
My approach to therapy embraces…
Curiosity and compassion in a supportive and collaborative therapeutic relationship
Client-led attunement to your unique circumstances and individual needs, that trusts and honors your own pacing and goals for therapy
Cultural sensitivity and intercultural competence that welcomes all backgrounds, experiences, and parts of you
Evidence-based care and ongoing learning in Internal Family Systems (IFS), art therapy, and therapeutic best practices
Integrated perspectives from trauma, neuroscience, somatic approaches, and Art Therapy
Trauma and difficult experiences often disconnect us from ourselves, and sometimes our emotions and bodies. It’s not what’s wrong with you, but what has happened to you.
My philosophy is that healing is not about fixing something that’s broken; it’s about reclaiming a sense of freedom and wholeness that was always yours to begin with.
Trust the Process
“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”
What it’s like to work with me
Clients describe me as compassionate, gentle, attuned, and fully present. I am not a blank slate therapist; I will laugh and curse with you even while holding space for deep emotional pain and vulnerability. Clients report feeling understood, supported, and fully seen—sometimes for the first time in their lives. You will not be “too much” or “not enough”. I will not pathologize you. I am:
Deeply relational and curious
Guided by values of compassion, humor, authenticity, connectedness
Committed to lifelong learning, curiosity, humility, integrity, and the highest standards of ethical practice
Informed by my time spent in the “client seat” doing my own work
We will honor the many strengths and capacities that exist in you despite your challenges.
We will uncover qualities in you that you may have forgotten, or that you never knew existed.
The therapeutic relationship is backed by research as a cornerstone for therapeutic growth. It serves as a foundation for the personal and often deeply intimate material that might be shared. Trust develops over time, and the first session or two might flow differently from the way a session will once established. The more trauma you have experienced, the more likely it is that you will feel a bit guarded while watching for signs that it’s truly safe to share. When authentic trust and rapport has developed, you might then experience the therapeutic relationship as a place where you:
Feel deeply heard and listened to
Can trust that whatever is shared will not be met with judgement or reaction
Fully believe that it’s okay to show up exactly as you are, without needing to be a certain way, and without having to rehearse or plan what to say
Feel safe to try new ways of communicating or relating to another
Can feel that your therapist has your best interests in mind, even when they give you the space to find your own clarity and answers from within
The therapeutic models or approaches we use in therapy can also be an important factor. Your therapy will be tailored to your individual needs from a whole-person, trauma-informed, and culturally affirming lens. Let’s connect for a 20-minute consultation to explore working together!
Finding the Right Fit
Readiness for Change
Therapy is a commitment to yourself and works best when you are engaged in the process. You might begin to notice small, gradual shifts that build over time. I often say that change is similar to a ship leaving port to sail across the ocean. If that ship shifts its course by just one degree, it might initially be imperceptible, but if sustained, could end up sailing to a different continent.
Clients have reported a greater capacity to sit with difficult emotions without getting overwhelmed, increased self-awareness, more self-compassion including during times of struggle and setbacks, access to clarity and perspective even when they don’t have all the answers, and greater connection to self and others.
“Together, we will get to know the many resourceful, dedicated, fierce, and vulnerable parts of you—and learn how to access the core qualities of a healing Self that is present within as you find your voice, hope, clarity, and self-compassion.
All identities, circumstances, and life experiences will be safely held and honored in our work together. And one day in the future, I hope you will come to know and deeply trust that you have the capacity within to navigate your life, no matter what you are facing.”