LCSW, 8 years of experience
I'm a mixed-race, genderqueer femme and Licensed Clinical Social Worker(LCSW). I'm a therapist of Mexican and Laos ancestry practicing virtually in California. I received my Masters from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and have been practicing for 6 years. I help young adults struggling with anxiety and stress of life's pressures build resilience in mind, body, and community.
In our first session together, we'll start with some intros, then explore the most important challenges you're noticing are needing a shift in your life. This will help us creatively and collaboratively plan for goals and next steps which guide our follow-up sessions.
Many clients enjoy the warmth, empathy, and laid-back approach to therapy I bring. I've created a flexible yet structured style which meets clients where they are, guides clients toward their strengths, and helps clients feel connected to a sense of community.
I love working with clients who identify with LGBTQ and racially diverse identities. My clients are eager to overcome traumatic experiences(big or small), build supportive self-care routines, but also want to explore mind-body, mindfulness, and somatic techniques to support their mind/bodies holistically. They often feel numb, anxious, or overwhelmed about stressful experiences in the past but want to stop avoiding life.
I've integrated somatic experiencing techniques into my practice since 2021 to help community members access the bravery and empowerment they have and need. Most clients find somatic therapy is helpful to process stuck emotions, expand knowledge of their emotional and physical worlds, and integrate more authentic and generative somatic practices into their lives.
Mindfulness is a meditation skill as well as therapy approach that encourages non-judgmental awareness of one's emotions, thoughts, and bodily experiences. This approach can often support clients in cultivating acceptance and flexibility in the face of ever-changing life experiences and transitions.
I utilize this goal-oriented approach to support clients in cultivating motivation to change, improve self-confidence, and develop resolve in facing various life's conflicts.
I utilize a trauma informed lens with all clients due to the mindfulness I hold that we all may have experienced various levels of trauma at any time in our lives. Trauma may affect us at a familial, relational, systemic, or other level and practicing awareness allows us to process, integrate, and overcome these experiences that often hold us back from our healing.