I’ve spent years on both sides of the therapeutic relationship.

While it’s impossible (and unethical) to guarantee a transformational therapeutic experience, my aim is to use what I’ve learned from my experiences, as both a therapist and a client, to support you to the best of my ability.

What does this mean?

I use techniques, theories, and tools that resonate with me as a neurodivergent, queer, female, child-of-immigrants client and that I feel confident in as a therapist.

Tools and resources that haven’t worked as well for me (I’m looking at you, CBT!) are simply not my forté.

(If you have your heart set on CBT skills, I’m happy to forward you some worksheets and/or a referral to some amazing CBT therapists.)

Some approaches I take

This area will continue to evolve as I expand my knowledge and skills (both as a therapist and as a human).

For now, my practice integrates experiential approaches with psychological theory to help you:

1. Focus on resolving issues at their “root,”

2. Build self-exploration skills to increase understanding and awareness of defenses, and

3. Improve clarity and tolerance to support long-term emotional wellness and regulation.
   

If you’re someone who appreciates therapeutic jargon, you might recognize the following theories and approaches:

• Psychodynamic psychotherapy - exploring the “whole” you and how past experiences may still be shaping your life today.

• Somatic work - integrating body awareness to help release stored stress and trauma.

• Parts work (Internal Family Systems) - getting to know our inner defenses (ex. the people pleaser, the inner critic, the escape artist, the lonely inner child, just to name a few) and unburdening them from their roles.

• Attachment theory - understanding how the bonds we formed as infants with our primary caregivers continue to influence our adult relationships.

• Psychoeducation - incorporating relevant, educational information from peer-reviewed research and/or psychological theory to make sense of what’s going on.

Your feedback and input really matters to me, so I’ll check in with you often to make sure what we’re doing feels okay for you.

Things I WON’T do as your therapist:

• Try to “fix” you.

• Give you advice.

• Tell you what to do.

• Pretend I know more about you than you do.

• Pretend I know more about anything than I actually do.

• Assume I know what is best for you.

• Have all the answers.

• Get upset if things don’t go a certain way.

• Make the hard stuff go away. (Sorry...)

What I WILL do instead:

• Remind you that you’re in charge of the directions we take in sessions.

• Listen with the aim to really understand you.

• Ask questions, provide feedback, offer information, suggest experiments, and help build useful skills.

• Support you in figuring things out.

• Acknowledge that I don’t know it all.

• Respect your wishes and boundaries.

• Apologize when I make mistakes.

• Celebrate your wins.

• Hopefully help the make the hard stuff easier to manage.