My approach
While I use a wide variety of techniques and theories to guide my practice, I am grounded in a few core principles:
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Client-centered: I believe people have a natural intuition for what their recovery ought to look like. Instead of centering treatment around a diagnosis or therapeutic approach, I try and build around their existing resilience and innate drive toward transformation.
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Holistic: People become unwell when they are unable to freely express their authentic selves due to internal and external forces (e.g., racism, invalidating family environment, homophobia) and symptoms develop when essential parts of the individual are wounded and/or forced into hiding. As a holistic therapist, I help clients connect with the emotional wounds underlying their symptoms so they can unlock their true potential.
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Relational: I believe the relationship is central to healing; it can help clients internalize a newfound sense of security and provides the safety necessary to explore parts of themselves that have been too painful or scary to face alone.
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Culturally responsive: We inherit both strengths and wounds from our cultural background. As a culturally responsive therapist, I am proactive in building a relationship with my clients that allows for all dimensions of their identity to feel safe while also celebrating their unique cultural strengths that may help drive their recovery.
I am an integrative therapist. This means I use a variety of approaches to help meet the unique needs of my clients. Here are some of my most common modalities:
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Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) & Internal Family Systems (IFS): I have advanced training in AEDP (Level-2) & IFS (Level-1). These psychotherapies have scientific support to treat a wide range of emotional challenges and often focus on root cause, processing difficult emotions/trau and transforming suffering into human flourishing.
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Mindfulness & Self-Compassion: I am a trained meditation teacher in the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program and hold a certificate from the Center for Mindful Self Compassion (CMSC) on the integration of mindfulness into psychotherapy. Meditation practices help get people 'unstuck' and approach their problems with greater clarity and groundeddness. Most importantly, meditation cultivates qualities of compassion that drive the healing process.
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Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) & Symptom Focused Psychotherapies: I have advanced training in CBT and other symptom focused treatments such as Motivational Interviewing (MI). These treatments are excellent options for people seeking reprieve from more acute forms of suffering or wishing to stop a problematic behavior. I have specific training in applying these approaches for insomnia and substance use disorders.