It’s a joy to be hidden, and a disaster not to be found.
D.W. Winnicott
My Approach
You may have learned to be responsible, successful or accommodating long before you learned how to listen to yourself.
Psychoanalytic therapy offers a space to learn how to listen to yourself. In the therapy room, I pay attention not only to what you say, but also to what you aren’t saying – I’ll help you notice what you’re sensing in your body, what you’re feeling, or struggling to put into words. My approach is thoughtful, empathetic, and honest. I offer an experience of both safety and challenge, and will put my finger on the underlying issues related to your struggles.
I practice relational psychoanalytic therapy with a grounding in attachment theory and interpersonal neuroscience. Together, we discover the deeper roots of your suffering, and how early experiences still shape your life today. We enter into your inner world and explore relationship patterns with curiosity and care. We pay close attention to what arises in our therapeutic relationship. While talking together is central to the work, we will also slow down to notice your experiences in the moment, including feelings, bodily sensations and images.
Psychoanalytic therapy can offer long-lasting, meaningful change by shifting familiar patterns and deeply ingrained ways of relating. While finding solutions to immediate symptoms can offer temporary relief, deeper change often unfolds over time. I meet with clients at least once a week, and sometimes up to three or four times a week.
Over time, your relationships may improve, and you may feel more connected to yourself. You may find yourself speaking more honestly and openly, becoming more clear about your needs and desires, and feeling more free to live your life on your own terms.
My Background
Since 2009, I have practiced psychotherapy with adults, children, adolescents and families in community mental health and private practice. Much of my work has focused on complex trauma, childhood and youth development, and on helping people recognize how early relationships shape their lives. I am currently a Candidate in the Adult Psychoanalytic Training program at the SF Center for Psychoanalysis.
As a lifelong practitioner of mindfulness and creative practice, I value curiosity, imagination, and the mind-body connection. I’m endlessly fascinated by the complex and complicated parts of being human- especially the parts that don’t fit into a box. With a background in community education, the arts and international experience, I bring a particular sensitivity to cross-cultural communication and the multiple perspectives from which we experience the world.
Many of the people I work with in my practice are people of color, first-generation Americans, immigrants, bilingual, queer, trans, non-binary, gender expansive, navigating complex sexuality, and pursuing non-traditional family building paths. I find identity differences between us to be enlivening and enriching.
Education/Training
M.A., Counseling Psychology, Emphasis in Expressive Arts Therapy, California Institute of Integral Studies, 2010.
Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, 2023.
Candidate in Psychoanalysis, SF Center for Psychoanalysis – anticipated graduation 2028.
Group Therapy Training Program, The Psychotherapy Institute, 2024.
B.A., Gender and Women’s Studies, UC Berkeley, 2004.
Community Mental Health Experience
Richmond Area Multi-Services (RAMS), Ann Martin Center, Adolescent Counseling Services, Pacific Center for Human Growth, Girls, Inc., Community Violence Solutions, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse, Streetside Stories, Boys and Girls Clubs of SF
Professional Memberships
Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC), SF Center for Psychoanalysis (SFCP), The Psychotherapy Institute, American Group Psychotherapy Association, and International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA).