License Marriage & Family Therapist # 97171

ABOUT ME

Born and raised in the Bay Area I have always appreciated the abundance of natural beauty and progressive culture here.A dancer in my youth, I was drawn to the Yoga tradition right out of high school and became a yoga teacher before I turned 20. I was intrigued by the potential for expanding consciousness and healing the mind, body, and spirit though mindfulness and physical practices. I found emotional and psychological release through these practices and wanted to know more.After a period of time working in social justice, teaching yoga and art and beginning studies in somatic therapy training, I returned to university. At UC Berkeley I created a major called Integrative Psychology, which blended my interests in psychology, holistic health, culture and community. I followed that with a Masters in Counseling Psychology at Sonoma State.I started providing direct therapy services in 2010 working in schools, community clinics and in social and restorative justice programs. Between 2014-2019 I held the Executive and Clinical Director roles at SOS Community Counseling, a nonprofit mental health training facility that provided free and low-fee counseling in Sonoma County. In 2019 I left the Director positions to build my own practice, which I now operate in Oakland, California and online.

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An Integrative Approach

I use a variety of therapeutic modalities:

To understand each clients needs, I use the following frameworks:

I have experience treating trauma, addiction, anxiety, depression, OCD, among other ailments. I support parents, couples, adults and teens to find clarity, empowerment, and healing through the therapeutic relationship.

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Somatic Therapy

Somatic approaches help:

Somatic interventions include:

I combine the principals of yoga, meditation, integrative somatic parts works, and the work of Dr. Niek Brow of the Netherlands in my somatic techniques.I have a separate somatic practice using Dr, Brouw's Psychomotoric Therapy, which is a developmental model that uses physical postures and stretches to rebalance the system as a whole, mind, body and spirit.

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Couples Therapy

Couples Therapy is helpful at any point in a relationship to make differing needs, expectations and fears visible. From there we can work to cultivate more respect, and trust, which can lead to creative solutions.I work from an attachment lens-
I aim to help you create both safety (attachment) and freedom (autonomy) within the relationship.I take an "ownership" approach-
I encourage each partner to use couples work as an opportunity to grow by identifying their role in the dynamics and practicing new approaches.I provide tools-
It's important to have something in your back pocket when friction arises. I teach communication and conflict resolution skills, as well as paying attention to the life cycles of the relationship.

Areas of Focus:

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