Services
About My Clients
Do you feel trapped by circumstances beyond your control? Are you unable to escape negative thoughts? Have you forgotten why you made the decisions that led you to this moment? Talk therapy can offer a way forward. Therapy can be a safe space to catch your breath, to talk out ideas that feel strange or risky, and to devise a new strategy for reconnecting with your best self. Therapy should feel comfortable so let me know if you want a consultation to help you decide if we are a good fit.
My Background and Approach
I have worked as a therapist and counselor for over 14 years in diverse roles ranging from career coach to crisis treatment in homeless and domestic violence shelters to clinical mental health settings where I worked closely with psychiatrists. Over the last five years I have operated a private practice because it allows a wonderful degree of autonomy, collaboration, and discretion between client and therapist. My approach to therapy is always client-centered and solution-focused. I employ narrative, cognitive, behavioral, and strengths-based approaches to helping you identify paths to achieving emotional wellness and satisfying relationships. I strive to create a space that is collaborative and non-judgmental for every client. I favor self-reflective interventions because I believe that most of the positive change that occurs through counseling comes from self-learning. However I am happy to provide plenty of feedback and guidance upon request.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
Working for over six years in homeless services in Los Angeles, first at Venice Beach and then in the epicenter of the city's Skid Row, was a formative experience. Again and again I was faced with the contradictions of a nonprofit industry doing real good in people's lives but sustained on false promises of "ending homelessness", when it was glaringly evident that structural problems in our economy, our healthcare system, and our the justice system prevent the possibility of a lasting solution. Later work in Portland with chronically unemployed workers left behind by the city's booming New Economy further cemented some of those beliefs. Much of my education has been in the clinical diagnosis of mental health conditions and their neurobiological underpinnings. But I understand the stress of living under precarious conditions can make calm and contentment feel like a delusion as well. I want to be a source of support for you, whatever you are experiencing.