““You build inner strength through embracing the totality of your experience, both the delightful parts and the difficult parts.””
My Approach
I am a licensed psychotherapist (LMFT) and provide individual, family and relationship therapy as well as professional consultation to therapists. I’m real, engaged, transparent, warm, collaborative and non-judgemental.
I offer therapy that is trauma informed and experiential. “Experiential” means being with your felt experience and emotions in the present moment. There are so many ways we are discouraged from being ourselves and being with our moment to moment experience is a first step towards genuinely embodying who we are.
One of my specialities includes healing from traumatic experiences of marginalization, othering and/or not belonging. These experiences can lead to deep anxiety, stress, confusion, vigilance, self-denial, depression and disconnection from your truth. I hold your experiences with grace and understanding and provide support and somatic education about how to safely feel your feelings which otherwise may feel overwhelming and exiled from your truth. It is very helpful to look at how these feelings may relate to old beliefs and fears linked with past trauma and early relationships to help you understand how present day issues may be influenced by dynamics from the past. Every step of therapy is your choice, this is your therapy. I help you find, feel, know and live from your experience of self-compassion, self-trust and self-connection. I provide the challenges you are seeking therapy for, so that you can get actual relief from persistent pain and suffering.
There are a multitude of differences in how each one of us may approach knowing and understanding ourselves, the world, healing and change. I welcome and affirm your way of knowing. I affirm and specialize in sexual diversity and gender expansiveness. I am educated, experienced and knowledgable about alternative consensual sexualities and non-traditional relationships structures. I support clients to cultivate a sexuality that is reflective of who they are, their needs, boundaries and desires. I provide support with sexuality and healing (cultivating sexual practices that support healing from past trauma).
I do not make assumptions about what your sexuality means to you and I hold the complexity of meaning your sexuality may have for you. I also will not assume that the issue you’re seeking help with and your treatment goals are related to your sexuality or orientation. If you belong to a marginalized identity, I am sensitive to the distress you may experience from cultural bias and prejudice against your sexual orientation, gender expression, racial, ethinic, cultural identity and I consider whether/if/how societal prejudice affects you in your daily life (safety, & prejudice at work, social, family etc.). I welcome and work with people of all genders and orientations. This includes LGBTQQIA people; polyamorous, altsex, kink-identified people and heterosexual, monogamous sexualities. I recognize how vulnerable it can feel to be in therapy and so I offer a free initial consultation to help with easing into the process where you can ask me questions and we can get a sense about whether I might be a good fit.