I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) registered in the state of California.  I have clinical experience in joining with clients like you to identify and work through “road blocks” that are in the way of the life and love that you seek.  We will identify the thought patterns, fears, and past stories about yourself that are holding you back.  Together, we can change those inaccurate and negative thought patterns, turn those fears into road maps, and those unproductive stories about the past into THE NEW STORY OF YOUR LIFE.

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Why work with me?

I am compassionate.   I know change is difficult and uncomfortable.  I create an environment where you can work with your discomfort without judgment.  You will be able to work through your deepest secrets, most difficult traumas, and hardest decisions in my office. You will find me to be unwaveringly open-minded in our sessions.  You will find that I cut to the heart of the matter and once the problem is defined, I will draw from my trainings in therapy and my personal life history and passions to move together with you past your obstacles.  I have been trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), and Art Therapy, using them when applicable and the patient is comfortable. 

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Please note that I respect where clients are at in their process and never pressure clients to use any technique in their healing that they are not ready for.  Many people prefer to use only talk therapy or talk therapy along with EMDR and do not want to make art as part of their process.  Another client may want to explore their problem through art for a few sessions and then move away from it.  I understand that the process of change is unique for each person and that the best way to encourage growth is to respect the pace and path that is natural for that individual.

 

How does my life history impact my work? 

I know that change can be uncomfortable because I have gone through a lot of it.  I wanted to be a therapist as long as I can remember.  I studied psychology in undergrad, focusing on the impact of capitalism on the nuclear family.  Then I discovered and fell in love with photography.  What I loved was the freedom I suddenly felt to see the world in my own way and to the ability to communicate that perspective to others.  I felt a new permission to discover myself and to be myself that I had never known.  I was so passionate and committed to this new medium that I changed my life direction.  It was a risk and I took it.  I obtained a master’s degree in fine art, focusing on photography and video.  I taught  these mediums at colleges in the San Francisco Bay area.  I loved helping others to discover their passion to see the world and to discover themselves as I had.  But somehow teaching was still falling short of the change that I knew was possible for people.  This prompted me to enroll in and complete two years of study in art therapy at Notre Dame de Namur University.  From there, I moved back to my hometown of San Diego, obtaining my masters and license in marriage and family therapy.  I am now a new mom fulfilling my dream of helping others to FLOURISH.