My introduction to psychotherapy was in 1994, when I first started treatment for an eating disorder and severe depression. The support I received in that space helped me understand, navigate, and survive a very painful adolescence. It enabled me to reach out for professional guidance many, many other times in my life — and was the reason I became a psychotherapist.
In my work, I normalize, validate, and celebrate the act of reaching out for professional support. Being a human is difficult and literally, everyone needs help sometimes. A big focus of my practice is to de-pathologize trauma reactions through psychoeducation about the autonomic nervous system, to affirm the inherent worth and value of each individual, and to help find safety in connection again.
Brief Professional Background
I have been working professionally in the behavioral health field since 2001, when I earned my bachelor’s degree in psychology. I obtained my masters degree in counseling psychology in 2004 and licensure as a marriage and family therapist in the state of California in 2008. Most of my early work was centered on supporting underserved teens and young adults in inpatient, outpatient, and school-based settings in culturally diverse cities across the country, including Memphis, TN; Little Rock, AR; Boston, MA; and Los Angeles, CA.
I began my private practice in Santa Monica, CA in 2008 and worked as a sexual violence prevention educator, clinical supervisor, and group facilitator for the UCLA-Santa Monica Medical Center’s Rape Treatment Center from 2008-2017.
Certified as a California Sexual Assault Victim Counselor since 2009, my therapy approach is firmly grounded in feminist theory and with a focus on supporting people who have experienced child sexual abuse and/or gender-based violence. I am a firm advocate for the provision of healthy relationships/healthy sexuality education in elementary, middle, and high schools and support the work of Culture Reframed, an organization based on the research of feminist scholar and anti-pornography activist Dr. Gail Dines, which views internet pornography as a public health crisis. https://www.culturereframed.org/
I became licensed to practice as an MFT in Oregon and earned the designation of Certified Sex Addiction Therapist in 2022.
