I specialize in helping healers, educators, and change-makers navigate life transitions with grace, focus their energy so they can save time, and solve problems creatively and inclusively while preventing or recovering from burnout. Young children I've worked with have also learned to use emotional regulation and communication techniques, helping them pause emotional escalation and improve relationship quality.
I work with people of all backgrounds, with a particular focus on equity-minded patients navigating life transitions who want to solve problems creatively. Maybe you lost part of yourself in a relationship or a job; maybe you're depleted after a big challenge, or scared to take a big step. I can help you "tend and befriend" yourself, clarify what really matters, and empathize compassionately without losing yourself, so you can creatively play into this next chapter of your life.
This belief in balancing presence in life with purposefully creating the life we want to live shapes me into a compassionate therapist who also invites growth opportunities. I look forward to helping you navigate life transitions and creatively design an empowered path forward in our work together.
Much of my work centers on helping people understand the values and needs that drive their behavior, empathize with others, and collaboratively generate choices that align with their values and the values of those around them. My approach involves creating a space of unconditional positive regard, listening deeply, offering questions and perspectives that increase insight and peace of mind, and identifying small, meaningful steps you can take to create the transformation you're longing for.
Working together, you can expect a caring, growth-oriented environment. I draw on a mix of humanistic, modern psychodynamic, Internal Family Systems, solutions focused, and narrative therapy, among others. This blend is meant to help you understand yourself more deeply, progress toward your goals, and understand others, in order to collectively work toward a more purposeful and equitable future. My style uses mindful presence and highlights opportunities for insight, and is tailored to your unique identity, strengths, and longings for a better world for yourself and others.
My path to becoming a therapist began with studying Nonviolent Communication and learning about feelings, needs, and values, which improved my relationships with myself and loved ones. While teaching, a turning point came when I helped a second-grade girl who had suffered trauma. She was bright, but her emotional and social dysregulation got in the way of her learning. I built a relationship with her and taught her emotional regulation techniques, which she learned to apply during classes to reduce emotional escalation, and we worked together on empathy to improve her relationships. That experience left me more interested in social-emotional learning than academics, and I eventually went into life coaching for a few years before deciding I wanted to go even further in supporting psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual development.
Today, I bring a whole human approach to each session, holding each individual as part of a wider social context where they can find the support to thrive. As a psychotherapy intern, I bring expertise as an Internationally Certified Life Coach, where I helped diverse patients using solution-focused therapy for more than 200 hours, along with more than 20 years of experience in Mindfulness, codependent recovery, and bilingual elementary school education.
In my free time, I enjoy playing improv, hiking, nature photography, dancing, game nights, word searches, and sugar-free baking. I'm also passionate about advocacy, particularly around affordable housing, immigrant and transgender rights, and gender and income equity.