(he/him)
New to Grow
I found myself becoming a psychotherapist through nudges from friends and family pointing me toward a field they believed suited me well. I'm so grateful I listened and changed careers from education to psychology; 10 years later, I'm writing this with great satisfaction about my profession. The work of joining a person in articulating, understanding, and organizing their experience is a wonderful thing. This work makes sense to me; I both enjoy serving others and the psychic rewards of their growth and success. I've worked in various settings, including CBT, college counseling, and psychodynamic clinics, as well as addiction medicine, behavioral health primary care, and medical integration with Kaiser Permanente. All of these contexts have combined to bring my clinical style together in an integrative-relational approach to treatment.
I am open to working with anybody who is contemplating, ready, willing, or exhausted by the change-making process. I welcome you into treatment, meeting you as necessary to support both uncertainty and vulnerability. I first like to listen to the leading edge of your desire for therapy through an open-ended conversation. We'll then continue with questions and sharing to clarify the source of the problem(s) and the options/choices you have for addressing them. Ultimately, we need to find a common language for figuring out a game plan for us to work together on
The care I provide is primarily shaped by my personal experience of being raised as an immigrant in America. The particular way my background influences my therapy work is in having learned to be with people from a place of welcoming and nonjudgment. My upbringing has granted me the fortunate gift of patience, which I apply in my work with the therapeutic relationship, process, and growth. For me, cultural sensitivity is cultural curiosity, casting aside what I believe I know about this or that group and being wide open to a human experience. I hope to help you bring yourself into closer alignment with your world through acceptance, commitment, and resilience.
I enjoy working with many different backgrounds and issues for adults, couples, & groups of all ages. I have trained in medical, community, school, and private settings, which provides me with a wide breadth of clinical experiences. I wrote my thesis on mindful self-compassion which gives me a strong lens into these practices. I have also studied and engaged in men’s focused psychotherapy, as well as participated in a work-stress program at Kaiser. Finally, I have been developing a sub-speciality in work with older adults over the past few years.
Integrative
I utilize a wide range of treatment approaches I have acquired in my varied training experiences.
Relational
I bring a relationship lense into my clinical work as a source of active support.