In what ways have your personal experiences influenced your work with your clients?
I've known what it feels like to be marginalized and victimized. I chose to work in this field after being inspired by those who helped me overcome. I feel honored to provide support to others going through any kind of hardship.
In what ways do your life philosophy and treatment philosophy overlap?
I truly believe, as a therapist and person, that everyone deserves to be listened to. When I meet someone, or even if I'm just passing them by, I hold the values of respect, truth, and kindness above all others. I feel that so many challenges in life can be avoided or overcome by a stance of positive regard and respect between people.
What do you think is the biggest barrier today for people seeking care?
A huge barrier for seeking care is feeling judged. Whether it's wondering would loved one's in someone's life might think or say if they found out, wondering what the therapist might think or say, or the negative messages one says to themselves when they consider asking for help, there are many obstacles that arise. Pushing past all the judgement one anticipates, or directly receives, and reaching out is a significant feat that I always commend. That is sometimes the most difficult step to healing.
Specialties
Depression
Depression often causes people to feel sad, empty, or hopeless, and can cause a lack of interest in life. It can also affect a person's thinking patterns and physical health.
Anxiety
Anxiety can mean nervousness, worry, or self-doubt. Anxiety disorder is a mental health disorder that entails excessive, repeated bouts of worry, anxiety, and/or fear.
Adolescent mental health
Adolescent mental health focuses on adolescent-specific experiences including physical and cognitive development, social and environmental factors, sex, sexual identification and orientation, emotional processing, and substance use. Given the influence that parents/guardians have on adolescents, home life is a particularly important consideration.
Attachment issues
Children that experience parents and/or guardians that are avoidant, ambivalent, or resistant from an early age, may develop attachment issues. This can manifest as difficulty forming or maintaining friendships, romantic relationships and empathetic bonds throughout life, as well as other issues.
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Obsessive compulsive disorder entails a distressful pattern of recurrent thoughts and repetitive behaviors. Obsessions are oftentimes unreasonable thoughts and fears that plague one’s mind to the point of compensatory behavior. This occurs despite logically recognizing the problem. The cycle is seemingly endless and instils feelings of hopelessness/helplessness. Severity of the condition varies but tends to begin gradually, becoming more intense under stress.
General Expertise
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is the degree to which a person feels confident, valuable, and worthy of respect. Feeling low self-esteem can influence overall well-being and be linked to anxiety and/or depression.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety or social phobia is fear of social situations or a fear of interacting with people other than close friends and family. Social anxiety can be persistent, intense, and debilitating, greatly affecting daily life.
Anger management
It's normal to experience anger at times, but for some, it becomes so frequent, intense, or difficult to control that it negatively affects their life. Anger management is a structured therapeutic approach toward reducing one’s anger to a point where more appropriate coping and/or conflict management skills are used. Beliefs and thoughts leading toward anger outbursts are explored while healthy coping and interpersonal skills are put into practice.
Caregiver stress & support
Caring for a friend or family member (paid or unpaid) includes emotional support, housework, help with finances, medication management, and shopping. Can be stressful, making caregivers more vulnerable to things like anxiety, isolation, and fatigue.
Sleep & insomnia issues
Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking frequently. While it can be a normal response to stress, it can also lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and distress, as well as behavioral difficulties.
Fees
$100
First Session
$130
Individual Therapy
Types of Therapy
Individual Session
Clientele
Young Adults (18-24)
Adults (25-65)
Adolescents (13-17)
Treatment Approaches / Modalities
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Strength Based Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Motivational Interviewing
Person-Centered Therapy
Training / Certifications
Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach
Licensure
CA, LMFT, 102254
Education
M.A., Counseling Psychology, Santa Clara University
Work History
I've been practicing as a therapist for 10 years. I've had the privilege of working with a multitude of individuals and families, of many backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. I've worked successfully to help people with who are hurting or seeking help, whether it is with grief and loss, adjusting to traumatic or significant life events, self-confidence, stress, anxiety, anger problems, sleep issues, parenting, or stage of life changes. Whether serving children, teenagers, adults, or older adults, I enjoy helping others, and enjoy even more so seeing people grow on their journeys' of realizing their best selves.
Location
16945 Del Monte Ave, Apt 103, Morgan Hill, CA, 95037, CA