New to Grow
I believe that the answers are here within us, and real change is possible when we have real support and guidance. As a therapist, I approach my work with radical acceptance and deep respect for the unique and ingenious resilience that each person possesses. Accompanied by a compassionate witness and supporter, often we can go to places in ourselves that we would not be able to access on our own. Through collaborative processes of self-exploration and compassionate self-awareness, clients are able to heal past wounds, move toward what they care about, and experience more connectedness, fulfillment, wellbeing, and joy.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
Our first session will be focused on getting acquainted and building trust with each other. At your comfortable pace and with your consent, we will explore your background and goals for therapy, all while paying close attention to your feelings and bodily cues. My intention for our first session is to create safety, undo a sense of aloneness, understand both the challenges you want to move through and the values you want to embody, and to co-create a preliminary vision and blueprint of how we would like the therapy to progress.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
Some of life experiences that have greatly impacted who I am include cultural exchange, contemplative practices, self-study, teaching in several forms, and the journey of parenthood. I was an exchange student in high school and college, and I majored in Latin American and Caribbean Studies in undergrad. I worked in the field of domestic violence prevention, then went on to study and teach yoga and meditation in school, medical, and in-home settings to people with a wide range of ages and abilities. I received my Masters in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco in 2013. My work as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist is greatly informed by my own life experiences of addressing relational, trans-generational, and racial trauma; cultivating secure attachment and a healthy sense of self-esteem and confidence in children, and "earned secure attachment" in adults; and coming to understand and value the interconnectedness and interdependence of all beings. I am a proud member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Since having my first child nine years ago, I have been immersed in the day-to-day of family life, as well as the study and practice of Hand In Hand Parenting and the RIE and Waldorf/Steiner approaches to parenting and education. Most recently, I was the assistant teacher in my child's pre-K class and had the pleasure of learning the Raising Lions approach, by Joe Newman. I am highly proficient in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese, and I am familiar with and sensitive to many aspects of Latin American and Latino cultures and histories. I explore and reflect on my own identity, impact, and role as a middle class, white woman on an ongoing basis.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I accompany people in a range of processes and life experiences, including: • healing from trauma • building confidence and self-esteem • cultivating relationships and intimacy • embodying authentic sexual and gender identities • fostering personal growth • working through anxiety and depression • unlocking creativity • integrating grief and loss • nurturing spiritual healing and development • cultivating heartfelt and effective communication • moving through life changes • navigating 2SLGBTQIA+-specific dynamics and needs • parenting, co-parenting, and blending families • honoring multicultural and multi-faith relationships • supporting one another through conflict • mindful separations • cultivating trust and resilience
Attachment-based
With attachment-based therapy, the cultivation of a secure, close relationship between therapist and client is a primary instrument of healing and growth. Patterns that were laid down in the context of relationships with caregivers and family are healed in the context of the therapeutic relationship. Together, we will attend to the material that is currently "up" for you, while also exploring your childhood experiences that formed your "attachment style" and therefore may be affecting patterns in current relationships. With mindfulness of your moment-to-moment experience, we aim to heal past traumas, build new skills of emotional regulation, increase self-compassion, create new neural pathways, and transform your experience of self.
Mind-body approach
Our bodies hold tremendous wisdom and are a primary communicator of our life experiences. In order to provide a holistic approach, I integrate talk therapy with mindfulness of sensations, emotions, energetic phenomena, movement, auditory and visual experience, and imagery.
Transpersonal
I hold therapy from a perspective that includes spirituality. I will support you to include and explore this aspect of your experience to whatever extent you wish, and in whatever form or religion that resonates for you. I aim to help you attune to both your inner wisdom and a sense of universal interconnectedness, thus assisting you to align with your own unique sense of meaning, healing, purpose, and fulfilling growth and change.
EMDR
When areas of past trauma arise in the therapeutic process, EMDR is a powerful, evidence-based approach to healing "stuck" and "looping" memories and experiences. Should we choose to use EMDR, I will guide you through a unique process that facilitates the brain's natural processing, thus reducing the "charge" in traumatic memories. As memories become less overwhelming and emotionally impactful, we simultaneously foster new, positive, more expansive beliefs that you hold about yourself.
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
The AEDP model informs the most fundamental lens through which I view and practice psychotherapy. I am engaged in an ongoing way in studying and training in this approach. To learn more about AEDP, please visit https://aedpinstitute.org/about-aedp-psychotherapy/ .