Welcome

Are you feeling overwhelmed or stuck? It takes courage to ask for help and commit to making significant life changes, so I commend you for taking the first step on your journey. Often my clients are struggling with limiting beliefs and old patterns of behavior that are holding them back. My approach is warm, authentic, and collaborative, and my goal is to support my clients on a path to healing and a more fulfilled life. I am unique in that I balance supportive listening with concrete tools and ideas. I have a straightforward approach around ambivalence or resistance that could be keeping a client from moving forward.

I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and have been providing therapy to adults, teenagers, and their families on the Peninsula for over 20 years. I grew up in the Bay Area and enjoy working with a diverse variety of backgrounds and personalities.

Description of Therapy

I tailor my work to the specific needs and goals of my individual clients using mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. For example, with CBT I work with clients to identify patterns of behavior that are not serving them, and determine if these patterns can be modified to produce desired changes. My focus is supporting my clients in developing helpful coping strategies, self-awareness, self-care, and effective communication skills for greater satisfaction and contentment in their lives. Feedback from the client is encouraged and welcomed during the therapeutic process, as I believe it creates an open and collaborative experience.

Specialities:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Adults, Young adults, and teens

• Life transitions (education, career, relationships, identity)

• Attachment and relationship issues

• Boundaries and self-care

• Self-esteem 

• Academic stress and learning differences

• Trauma

• Caretaking challenges

• Anger management

• Substance abuse

Therapeutic style:

• Engaging and direct

• Warm, genuine, authentic

• Collaborative and interactive

• Strengths-based approach

• Nonjudgmental and accepting

• Provides a fresh perspective and a sense of humor

• Incorporates practical resources

Focus on:

• Improvement in self-care and development of healthy coping strategies

• Gaining insight into how patterns of behavior affect personal relationships

• Increasing self-esteem and self-confidence

• Enhancing the quality of personal relationships

• Problem-solving with reflection on pros and cons of choices

Education

M.A. in Counseling Psychology, MFT emphasis, Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, CA

B.A. English Literature, Psychology Minor, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA