Feminist Therapy

Let's be honest, systems of oppression are to blame here. I love supporting my clients in healing from systemic racism, sexism, fat-phobia, ableism, and queerphobia. You may not have control over these systems, but you do have control over how you show up for yourself in this sometimes fucked up world.

Power dynamics within the therapeutic relationship as well as society at large matter. We cannot ignore the systemic and environmental contexts in which we all live. I respect and honor your expertise on yourself and your world. I am here as a guide to help you heal, not as an expert to "fix." Collaborative and empowering are my most authentic ways to work with others.

Therapists in our practice believe in using a collaborative approach to therapy. While we have knowledge coming from our own education and experiences, you have expertise in your life. We work to create a collaborative environment where you are working on your goals based on what you need and want for yourself.

I love feminist therapy because it is for all genders and all people: It analyzes power structures and their effects upon people. Each person's intersectional identity, along with their unique lived experience, is differently affected by the current politics and systemic structures. This model helps frame issues to show that they are likely externally caused, which can remove the feeling of self-blame. It also uses education, advocacy, and strength-building to encourage self empowerment.

Feminist therapy means that I work with my clients to evaluate their current life situations/stressors and how it relates to not only their personal world view, but also how it related to our cultural and societal expectations. Feminist therapy also focuses on empowering individuals. Giving people the ability to advocate for themselves and understand how they can get more autonomy in their situation.

I work through a holistic, relational, anti-oppressive, and intersectional feminist lens. I am deeply passionate about the healing and liberation of women and femmes. I believe that it is necessary to acknowledge oppression, colonialism, white supremacy, patriarchy, gender violence, and capitalism as directly complicit in our mental distress and dis-ease.

I believe societal pressures and constructs impact every individual, and therefore, every relationship. Feminist therapy and feminist family therapy acknowledge how societal expectations, gender constructs, and personal biases can influence an individual's ability to connect with others and prescribe how they do so. As a feminist therapist, I can help you understand and examine how expectations from those around us influence our sense of self and how we show up in our relationships and lives.

In my work, I focus on reworking gendered power dynamics with individuals and couples and addressing social inequities that keep partners form being collaborative with one another.

I practice from an intersectional feminist lens, meaning that I take into account how all the parts of your identity (race, sexual orientation, size, faith, roles you occupy, etc.) impact your individual experience of being a woman, including your experiences of oppression. I consider you the expert on you, and me the expert on psychology, and together we partner to combine our expertise in the service of your goals. I seek to empower you to make your own best decisions according to your values.

A feminist approach to therapy enables an egalitarian relationship between therapist and client, where the client is the expert in the room and we collaborate on treatment. My research in graduate school was on a feminist approach to working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse. As a therapist, I sought out a feminist supervisor and strive to learn as much from her as I can.

I approach various systems and connections we have as an important part of our life experience. I am interested in helping you to make and know your identities and I will share some of mine with you.

You are the expert of yourself; I'm here to support you with my training and skills to assist you in uncovering the answers within. I use an intersectional approach and recognize there are many factors and layers to your life, and when we can examine all aspects of our identity we move toward accepting ourselves as we are. I am committed to being an inclusive, anti-racist practitioner and do not shy away from discussing relevant social justice topics as they may arise within therapy.

I was trained the tradition of the Stone Center at Wellesley in what was then called Feminist Therapy, but is now called "Relational Cultural Therapy". This is a strengths based approach that honors not only the specific needs of women but also takes into account the ethnic and cultural backgrounds that shape our worldview. Healing happens in relationships with others, and therapy is a way to practice this.

My therapeutic orientation is strengths-based, humanistic, relational, and informed by principles of social justice. I have an undergraduate degree in Women's Studies from UC Santa Cruz, and identify as a feminist.

Mental health is a feminist issue! As a feminist therapist, I focus on helping my clients build on their existing strengths, explore intersecting identities, and break out of oppressive expectations and societal pressures that aren't serving them. My work recognizes the impact of the systems we live within, and honors the ways we've learned to cope and survive, while creating space to grow towards the lives we want. My clients are women and nonbinary folks who want to thrive at work and home.

Feminist Therapy is a holistic, integrative approach to therapy that takes into consideration systemic biases, patriarchal structures, and oppression of women, female-identifying people and people of color in order to help you understand how these factors affect your mental health.