Welcome! I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 28+ years of experience, and I’ve had the privilege of serving clients in California for nearly three decades—longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. fI've worked in a variety of settings from psychiatric hospitals and emergency rooms to outpatient clinics, jails, and community health centers. No matter where I’ve been, my passion has always been helping people heal, grow, and find hope. I work with adults of all ages—whether you’re 18 or 98, I believe age is just a number, and what matters most is where you want to go from here. I specialize in supporting those who have faced trauma, including childhood abuse, military service, serious accidents, and other life-altering events. I also have extensive experience helping people navigate grief and loss, depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and more. I truly enjoy working with individuals as well as couples—whether you come alone or together, we can explore what matters most to you. My approach to therapy is collaborative and interactive. We’re in this together, and I’m here to support you every step of the way. I draw from a variety of evidence-based therapies, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), mindfulness, motivational interviewing, prolonged exposure therapy, and relaxation skills. Mostly, I bring compassion, and listening. Throughout my career, I’ve worked on crisis teams, partnered with law enforcement, and responded to emergencies in homes, hospitals, and even at Ground Zero in New York City after 9/11. These experiences have shaped my understanding of trauma and resilience, and I continue to use the skills I’ve learned to help clients through life’s most challenging moments. If you’re ready to take the next step, Let’s work together to move forward—wherever you want your journey to go.
In our first therapy session together, my main goal is to help you feel comfortable and supported as we get to know each other. We’ll start by reviewing the intake form you completed before your visit, as well as any brief questionnaires your insurance may require, such as the PHQ-9, which helps us understand how you’ve been feeling lately. If you haven’t had a chance to complete these forms at home, we can take care of them together during our session. After that, we’ll talk about what brought you to therapy and what you hope to get out of our work together. I’ll spend a lot of time listening so I can really understand your story and your goals. Sometimes, I may suggest practical tools from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help us get started, but I always respect your preferences and choices. My approach is collaborative—I may offer ideas or feedback, but you are always in control of your own journey. I’m here to support you, not to tell you what to do. Most importantly, our first session is about building trust and making sure you feel heard. I look forward to working together to help you move forward in a way that feels right for you.
One of the main strengths I bring to the therapy session is my wealth of life experience. I have faced a wide range of situations—some positive, some challenging—and I have learned valuable lessons from both my successes and my mistakes. This allows me to reflect on my own journey with honesty and even humor, often looking back and thinking, “What was I thinking?” I believe this self-awareness helps me relate to clients with empathy and without judgment. In addition, I have many years of experience working in the mental health field. Over time, I have gained a deep understanding of therapeutic concepts and practical tools, which I am able to share with clients when appropriate. My professional background means I am comfortable discussing a wide variety of issues, and I am rarely surprised by what clients bring to the session. This helps create a safe, open environment where clients can feel free to share whatever is on their minds. Finally, my unique combination of personal and professional experiences allows me to approach therapy with flexibility, compassion, and a genuine desire to help clients grow. I strive to meet each person where they are, drawing on my knowledge and experiences to support them in their own journey.
I love working with trauma clients, SMI (seriously mentally ill) clients, PTSD, grief and loss clients. And those diagnosed with mood disorders, depression and may have suicidal ideation, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, adjustment disorders, and older adults. And basically anyone 18+ that comes in and wants help. I've worked with many types of clients, including those who have requested DBT, as I started a DBT program in a hospital, in NY State. I have skills (not coming from DBT) but other sources as well, to teach clients mindfulness, emotional regulation, guided visualizations, relaxation skills, breathing techniques. I have had considerable success working with clients with trauma, I worked for 5-years in Nevada, in addition to the two day positions I had, both in psychiatric hospitals, the second one for two and a half years, I worked on the Mobile Crisis Team, (from the first psychiatric hospital) on which I went to private homes, worked with the Swat Team, police, and in hospital ER's . Then, in San Diego at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, a 150-bed psychiatric hospital. And went and received training by the National Red Cross to be a "Disaster Mental Health Counselor" (which was excellent training that I still use) and they said, you don't have to pay for having taken this course, you just need to join us on our next disaster. The next disaster was 9/11 in 2001, and I worked at the Ground Zero location, talking with all those there. So, I can say without a doubt, I've had great experience in talking/working with people with trauma. This all occurred while I worked at a 150-bed psychiatric hospital, here in San Diego, called Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, and I took the time off to go to NYC, in the beginning of October, BY PLANE.
Other specialties
I identify as
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps to identify and change the negative thinking we have, and then we work to change those thoughts to more useful, self-affirming thoughts that help us see things differently.
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
This therapy is for those diagnosed with PTSD, such as childhood trauma, war experiences, car accidents, and so on. I have found it to be extremely effective, although at times remembering can be painful. Once we have applied CPT to your trauma, it changes how you see it, therby changing how you feel, which is better. Sometimes much better.
Christian Counseling
This is counseling from a Christian (or say, if someone is Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Evangelical, and so on) or if you would describe yourself as spiritual. Sometime people who come from a similar background can understand where you are coming from in a more unique way. Like if someone is in a terrible marriage, perhaps abusive even, and they want to get a divorce, but may have doubts about it according to their religion. Or one parent is not the same in the religious sense that they used to be. These are the types of things we can discuss.
Couples Counseling
I love working with couples, and enjoy seeing them getting better. I do use some of Gottman's techniques, but also basic communication skills. I find that some couples "come-iin" to adjust to having a "cute new member of the family" who sometimes joins us in therapy, but understands nothing of what we are discussing, and yet have driven their parents to therapy, tired and challenged by the new addition to the family.
Grief Therapy
I have done much grief and loss therapy, as well as trauma-informed therapy. I focus on the stages of grief and loss, and talk about the loss, what it means to the person, and how they are handling it. Perhaps look at other ways to handle it.