If you email me almost every email will read similar to, “I am so glad you reached out… “ because I genuinely am. Reaching out for therapy is one of the biggest and bravest steps someone will ever take. It requires courage and honesty to seek therapy and to invite someone into your life with that level of vulnerability. But, taking that step can be absolutely life changing for the better. I know that because I have personally taken that step and been a client myself. I have had and continue to have my “time on the couch” because I am not immune to the struggles of life and because I believe a good therapist knows their work from the client-side, as well.

As your therapist, I will learn from you and about you, listen to what you have lived through and are experiencing, help you hold your desires and hopes, and help you on your journey towards healing. We’ll focus on how you are doing currently, your behaviors and patterns, and your feelings. We’ll explore your relationships and the things that concern or worry you. We’ll find where you feel stuck and identify how to move through the things that have held power over you. We’ll look at your life as whole, from past to present, and intentionally work together to make sense of your story. I’ll ask you questions and provide insights. Sometimes we will be talking and engaging. Other times we will allow for pauses to remind you to breathe so you stay present and awake to your here and now moments that hold answers and truth. I know the process of therapy can be scary, but hope is real and a more authentic, free whole you is possible at any moment and stage of your life to have closer and deeper relationships and a much more connected, lively, and congruent life.

As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist I see it as a privilege to be able to be in this work of mental health and healing. I deeply believe in it. I would love to be your guide through your therapeutic healing process and support you. I will respect you, all that is a part of your life story, the many experiences you have had, and what you are currently living through. You can expect me to see you, hear you, and you yourself will experience the healing emerge from within you as you embrace all the parts that make up who you are— the messy to all the goodness in you. It would be an honor to be your therapist in your healing process of moving through your past and/or current stuckness to a renewed present where wounds, systems, and false living no longer corrupt your life or have power over you.

Some of my therapist journey work background

I have worked with children, adolescents, adults, and families in various contexts. I was trained in domestic violence, sexual assault, adult and child abuse, and crisis intervention through the nonprofit Center for Community Solutions in San Diego and I was a part of the San Diego County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). I completed my graduate educational practicum at CLU’s Community Counseling Center in Ventura County, providing therapy to a wide range of clients/patients seeking therapy for issues such as relationships, life transitions, addictions, childhood trauma, and serious mental health conditions. After graduate school, I started working at the YWCA of San Diego County and worked with survivors of domestic violence and abuse in short-term and long-term therapy programs and became the Lead Therapist for the YWCA’s Becky’s House Shelter Program. In 2012, I joined a beautiful private practice called The Soul Care House, which was located in the heart of San Diego, in Mission Hills. There, I worked closely with an amazing group of therapists and provided supervision for associates gaining their hours towards licensure. I also provided therapy to a wide range of clients/patients specifically those working through complex trauma. Due to my extensive work with survivors of abuse I continued to and still today work with many individuals that have experienced abuse. I also love connecting with others in the mental health and wellness field, staying informed about changes in mental health and wellness, keeping up with new research findings, and participating in continuing education and training that improve my therapeutic skills.

I Work With Adult Individuals, Couples, and Families and My Areas of Focus Are

• Acute and Complex Trauma
• Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual and Emotional Abuse
• Grief and Loss; Bereavement
• Life Transitions
• Faith and Spirituality
• Relationship Issues and Unsatisfying Relationship Patterns
• Support and Care for Caregivers and Loved Ones of Aging Parents/Adults
• Bilingual: Spanish and English

My Education & Some of My Training

• B.A. in Psychology with a Concentration in Therapeutic and Community Psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University
• M.S. in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy from California Lutheran University
• Trauma Trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Part I and Part II and Supervised
• Trained in Domestic Violence and Abuse by the San Diego County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Program with CCS
• Training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Currently in Training for Somatic Experiencing Therapy (click here to learn more, it is fascinating!)
• Supervision for Associates Gaining Hours Towards Licensure

My Current Memberships & Affiliations

• Member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
• Member of the Western Psychological Association (WPA)
• Member of PSI CHI The National Honor Society in Psychology