About Me
Background & Training
|
I am a licensed psychologist in the state of Washington (PY60416260), and I have a private practice located in Seattle. I feel honored to be a psychotherapist and sit with clients as we explore their life experiences and needs. I am deeply informed by my curiosity and awe about what it means to be alive and to be engaged as a member of the living earth. Current areas of exploration in my life are centered on learning how to engage in reciprocal relationship with the land and more than human world, building community and connecting with sources of resiliency, and learning from the seasonal shifts in our bodies and and local places.
I also greatly enjoy and am committed to ongoing learning as practitioner. Below is a list of significant conferences and advanced training experiences that I have attended or completed:
Education I attended Pacific University School of Professional Psychology in Oregon, where I received both my Master’s and Doctorate degrees in clinical psychology. I completed my predoctoral internship at the University of Washington Counseling Center. I have experience working with a wide range of emotional and interpersonal issues. The focus of my training has been on providing outpatient psychotherapy to individuals and couples, as well as working specifically with college student populations. I have also run therapy groups for adults and adolescents in various settings, and I enjoy creating group and community-based experiences to support people in enhancing connections with others while working towards healing. |
My Therapeutic Approach |
My therapeutic approach is holistic and relationship-oriented. The foundation of my work comes from Gestalt therapy, which is a client-centered approach that views all individuals as inherently oriented toward growth and having a capacity for healing. I have training in and experience with various treatments that are empirically supported, including mindfulness-based therapies, ecotherapy/nature-based approaches, emotion-focused therapies, and body-based/somatic approaches — all of which are incorporated into my work with clients. Ultimately, I support clients in increasing self-awareness, self-understanding, and self-compassion. With greater awareness and compassion, I find that individuals are then empowered to make changes in their lives that are in line with their values and needs. Learning to approach ourselves and our inner experiences with curiosity and care, is often a great strength in moving through life's inherent challenges.
I strive to guide clients towards recognizing and unlocking patterns that may be impeding emotional growth, interpersonal relationships, the ability to experience authenticity and intimacy, or satisfaction in other areas of life. Along with learning more about yourself and the many factors that impact your well-being, therapy may also be a place for you to learn new skills to apply in your daily life and in your relationships with others. We will likely spend time noticing, focusing on, being curious about, and exploring your body sensations, emotions, and thoughts, as they arise throughout our time together in the therapy room. I recognize and value an exploration of both the broader social and political context and our relationships with the natural world. I believe that our relationship with and connection to the natural world is a vital aspect of our well-being as individuals and communities. Although this does not have to be a therapeutic focus for the clients I work with, I find that one’s relationship with the natural world is often an important part of one’s identity and can be helpful to integrate into our therapeutic work together. We are impacted emotionally and psychologically by the broader social and cultural structures around us, and I am committed to acknowledging and addressing the impacts of structural oppression (i.e., racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia) in my work as a therapist. This is a perspective that I hold in my work with all clients, whether or not you hold identities that are marginalized, privileged, or an intersection of both. Along with exploring these impacts, I am also interested in recognizing how group membership, community affiliation, and experiences of marginalization may also be related to to connection, empowerment, and resiliency in your life. |
Land Acknowledgement
|
My psychotherapy practice is located on the unceded lands of the Duwamish and Coast Salish people. One of the ways I honor my position as a settler on this land, is through regular donations to Real Rent Duwamish, and learning about and supporting local initiatives led by the Duwamish and other Coast Salish peoples.
You can make a donation to support the return of land and resources to the Duwamish people here: https://www.realrentduwamish.org/. |