(she/her)
New to Grow
Hello and Buen Día to you all! It would be my pleasure & privilege to work with you. I am a Forensic & Family Psychologist. I have worked for the last 18 years with the Spanish speaking population in Oakland’s Fruitvale District supporting healing around trauma and a variety of issues from prevention to severe and chronic suffering. Being a family and forensic psychologist means that I work with families involved in the court system: divorce, child custody/arrangements, child abuse, removal and reunification and or juvenile detention. I enjoy working with families, children, couples, and adolescents. I believe our innate strengths. I believe our internal strengths can be shaped, molded and encouraged in such ways that lead naturally to a desire and pursuit for wellness & healing.
In our first session, a lot is happening, but the most important part is the “conocimiento”. (the process of getting to know one another) For therapy to be successful building a solid connection is paramount. At that first meeting, we need to also confirm we have all the proper paperwork done and go over any important informational details about therapy including confidentiality & roles. I spend a lot of time gathering historic details across various domains. All of this is done with the intent of getting to know you, where you’ve come from, who it has shaped you to be, what you’ve tried and what has worked and not worked.
Working with clients is an honor and I see myself as a partner in your healing. I bring my training, knowledge & experience and together with your willingness, experience and participation, I hope to walk the path of recovery together. As a team, we will find interventions and revelations, then choose the ones to implement leading to your improvement and success. Some of the most effective therapeutic approaches that I have found most useful are Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Narrative Therapy (NT) and Motivational Therapy. For trauma, I have found EMDR to be particularly effective for my clients. Narrative therapy provides outlets for people to rethink and recreate a new storyline for their lives. Motivational therapy helps people increase their own capacities to make lasting changes in their lives. In the end, whatever approach we take, as long as we take it together, we can find success.
I really have served all types of client's. I have spent 18 years at a non profit serving client with moderate to servere mental health issues, ranging in ages from 4 to 74. In addition, I have provided individual, couples, family and group sessions. I am open to most people. I think the client's I am best positioned to serve are those who are interested in treatment and are wanting to work.
I identify as
EMDR
I have been using this approach more than a deacade and I most often use it with folks that suffer with trauma.
Christian Counseling
I consider faith practices to be a significant strength and protective factor for many clients. If faith is important to my clients (and only then), I find it highly effective to include prayer and scripture sharing as well as discussing client's beliefs and value in order to support goals and healing.
Family Therapy
No child lives on there own. They exist within the family system, their school environment and the larger community. Thus, I find family therapy effective when working with children under the age of 12 years old. It can also be effective for older clients when the whole family is facing systemic changes. Along the same lines I find couple's counseling to be effective for helping to support children in the home as well as useful for couple's in general. Our main attachment relationship often can cause the most intense distress in our lives. I am open to couple's counseling when clients find that their relationship provokes the majority of their distress.
Forensic Psychology
I am a family and forensic psychologist, which means wherever the family meets the court system this is what my training was in. For example, minor in families dealing with divorce and or child custody disbutes, issues related to child abuse, removal, or reunification, as well as minors involved with juvenile court system and juvenile hall.
Motivational Interviewing
I have a strong background in 12 step programs and generational addiction patterns. I find often when dealing with vices, motivational invterview can be quite effective.