Services
- Individual
About My Clients
The clients that I treat often come in with a combination of anxiety, depression, difficulties in relationships, or difficulties making changes in their lives that they want to make (whether it be around substance use, compulsions, or making major life changes). Many of my clients also do not know exactly what they want, only that they want to feel better. They often feel their anxiety and depression hold them back from fully experiencing the life they are capable of living.
My Background and Approach
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a Master of Social Work from San Jose State University with an emphasis on health and mental health. I also have Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz with an emphasis on health inequalities. I have experience in many different settings including: outpatient mental health clinic, crisis residential program, locked psychiatric units, homeless shelter, support group, and drug treatment programs. My passion is working with adults who are experiencing depression, anxiety, and/or grief to help them to overcome difficult symptoms and move towards their goals. I am a trauma-informed, person-centered therapist who helps people define their goals and motivate them through an empathic strength-based approach. I have experience working with adults of all ages utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectal behavioral therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, and person-centered therapy.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I believe we all have the capacity to change throughout the lifespan. However, I also believe that there are valid reasons for why we are not changing in the direction we want. I find that my clients often struggle with various conflicts (also called ambivalence) within themselves; the parts that want to change in a particular way and the parts of them that want to stay the same or are afraid of such change. I believe that learning skills to manage anxiety, reframe thinking patterns that keep us stuck, build positive relationships, set and maintain appropriate boundaries can all be very helpful ways of improving our mental health. Through my own process of change in dealing with crippling depression and anxiety I found that psychotherapy can be immensely helpful in motivating people and building insight which leads to the changes that can free them from depressed and/or anxious symptoms. I believe that people need not struggle with these difficult symptoms in isolation.