My Approach
Often, motivation and follow-through are the hardest things when we are trying to create change. Even when something is very painful and we really want that change. I will provide the framework to help you see a path forward.
People describe me as warm, supportive, and encouraging. I will provide structure, however I also trust that you know what you need and I will generally follow your lead. I use questionnaires and encourage self-study to help ensure progress.
My Background
Professional:
My graduate program was a dual program in Marriage and Family Therapy as well as Art Therapy at Notre Dame de Namur in the Bay Area. As a tele-therapy provider I’m not doing art therapy at this time, however this education and philosophy about the importance of how much emotion, stress, and trauma is held in our bodies has stuck with me. Creative expression can be hugely therapeutic, and so can regular exercise as well as mindfulness/deep breathing. Talking can also be hugely therapeutic. I recommend a combination of all these things.
During graduate school I had placements at an East Palo Alto elementary school, as well as with the San Jose Veteran’s Center. After I completed my program I worked for a couple years in community mental health doing substance use treatment. I then spent some time at United Behavioral Health/Optum as well as with Kaiser Permenente doing triage, crisis, and intakes. I enjoyed the scale of these companies, it was amazing to see so many people getting help; however, I also saw the downside to things being so large.
One of the things I struggled with the most was seeing how many people are looking for therapists and not getting connected with someone because they didn’t meet “medical necessity”, or a person would get a therapist but then only see the therapist once a month because there weren’t enough therapists to meet client needs. These things brought me back to providing direct services myself through smaller online companies.
I started my private practice in 2024 so that I can help clients the way I want to. In private practice, and in particular with private pay, the focus can be completely on the client and the treatment.
Personal:
When I have the chance, I love mountain biking. As I said, I firmly believe that movement is important to mental well-being. I’ve seen my mountain biking have a huge impact on my own personal struggle with perfectionism and depression. It has pushed me to learn how to tolerate being bad at something, as well as build confidence, and it’s been truly life changing for me. I highly encourage everyone to take up something they aren’t immediately good at!
I also have a fondness for TV and movies, however given the pace of life I don’t watch as much as I used to. But you might occasionally catch me geeking out on movie references.
