Relational

My entire practice background has been rooted in the Relational Approach to healing, which holds that progress and healing can only occur in the context of a trusting, positive relationship.  I understand that trust takes time, and you will find my warmth, patience, and open-heartedness helpful in developing a trusting, therapeutic relationship and creating a space for healing to occur. Perhaps even more importantly, is the relationship between my clients and their internal world.  I hold the view that we all possess an innate healer who, through relationship with the parts of us who struggle, can bring us into wholeness and full authenticity.

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Liberation Focused​

All of my work is done through the lens of and in service to personal and collective liberation.  ​This means recognizing the impact of the systems of harm and oppression (patriarchy/misogyny, white supremacy, homophobia/transphobia, ablesism, colonialism, capitalism, etc) and how they contribute to the issues that are brought in to therapy.  We not only witness, tend to, and liberate you from personal burdens, but also ancestral and cultural legacy burdens as well.  As a holder of multiple identities of dominant culture, I am personally dedicated to a continuous learning and unlearning of my own biases and collusion with systems of harm and oppression, and am in the ever-evolving, critical process of decolonizing my practice.    

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Strengths Based

It is common to come in to therapy not feeling empowered, but I relentlessly hold on to the belief that you have within you the ability to overcome whatever is challenging you, no matter what degree of distress you are experiencing.   I am here to to help you access your inner healing potential so that you can grow, gain new confidence, and feel empowered beyond the therapy session.  I see and honor YOU as the expert on your healing path and guide with curiosity rather than knowing and interpreting.  

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Internal Family Systems

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is the primary healing modality that I use. In 2016, I began a year-long, formal training in IFS, and this experience and training has had the most profound impact on me personally and professionally.  It has given me a framework that pulls together much of the work I was doing, but with a new purpose and perspective.  I have a greater understanding of what my clients are presenting, clarity about why clients may get stuck, and a clear direction for helping them move forward and go deeper.  IFS allows us to get to know your challenges and vulnerabilities with compassion, curiosity, and non-judgement, and has been incredibly transformative for my clients and myself personally.

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Internal Family Systems is an evidenced based, mindfulness practice that assumes:

*We possess a variety of sub-personalities or parts that often show up as challenges or "symptoms".  When we get to know them, we learn about their protective roles and the more vulnerable parts of us they are protecting. 

*We have within us a Self that can facilitate healing.

*When we build relationships with our parts, we gain more access to Self, and can offer healing to and releasing of the burdens or negative beliefs they are carrying.

*Releasing these burdens leads to personal growth and more positive well-being.   

To read more about IFS, click here. 

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Trauma- Informed/Justice Oriented

​I have been working with clients impacted by complex, relational, and systemic trauma for over 25 years.  I respect and honor the protective strategies that are necessary to take on for survival and coping with trauma and adverse childhood experiences (aces).  My therapy techniques are informed by this awareness and use the wisdom and guidance of the client's protective system to dictate when and how we safely go to the pain for witnessing and healing.  My work is informed by an understanding of systemic/racialized trauma and the impact of systemic trauma on individual and community systems.  I hold the utmost respect for the necessary protection and coping/survival expressions and adaptations (aka parts) that often get labeled as abnormal and pathological.  

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Non- Pathological

I take a non-pathological approach to healing, and while I understand medication and diagnoses may be useful and necessary at times, they are not the focus of our work together.  I believe in holistic care, and the power of mind-body-spirit healing. I view "symptoms" and "diagnoses" as protective coping mechanisms with positive intent, despite their negative impact.  When we get curious about these protective parts, we can form a relationship with them and discover the underlying vulnerability needing our attention and healing. This is where powerful transformation unfolds.  Because I believe diagnoses can be labeling and limiting and also rooted in systems of harm and oppression, I have chosen to not provide a diagnosis for my clients.  I am now a fee for service only (vs. out of network) practice.  That means that a superbill cannot be submitted for out of network reimbursement.