About Me 

Education

CA Board of Psychology License: PSY31230

Psy.D. Clinical Psychology, The Wright Institute, Berkeley, CA

B.A. English, University of California, Berkeley

Background

I was born and raised in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. My family struggled emotionally and economically during much of my childhood and through that struggle, I became interested in examining the impact of hardship on people. I explored a variety of careers, including teaching and law, before settling into psychology.

For my degree and initial licensure as a psychologist, I completed 6 years of training in a variety of therapeutic modalities and with different populations. I completed my predoctoral internship at Oakes Children’s Center in San Francisco, CA and my post-doctoral fellowship at Saint Mary’s College of California Counseling and Psychological Services in Moraga, CA. I also trained at Seneca Family of Agencies, Santa Rosa Junior College Student Psychological Services, Options Recovery Services/Wright Recovery Clinic, and Josie’s Place for Bereaved Youth.

In addition to my private practice, I provide supervision services to psychiatry residents at Kaiser Permanente Oakland, I teach courses in a counseling master’s program, and I provide therapy services to a nonprofit community mental health agency in their Intensive Services Foster Care program.

My Approach

I believe in the power of the therapy relationship to promote healing and growth. This means that feeling connected to your therapist is a key component of successful therapy. Often the first several sessions of a treatment may be solely focused on developing that connection, which will make the therapy itself successful. I believe that we resolve different things in different relationships, and therapy is a special kind of relationship where we can dig deeply into your present concerns and thoughts in an emotionally safe and supportive space.

Professional Affiliations

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC)

Association for Play Therapy (APT)