Therapy Training & Approach

Culturally responsive, trauma informed therapy for all parts of you.

Education & Training

  • University of California, Post-Master’s Fellowship

    University of Washington, Master of Social Work

    University of Washington, Behavioral Health Fellowship

    University of Texas, Bachelor of Arts

    Washington State License #LW61230640

    To learn more about my training and experience, click here.

  • Lifelong learning is important so I can stay up to date with evidence based research.

    I continually attend workshops, conferences, and trainings in the areas of: trauma, PTSD, grief, relationships, mindfulness, somatic therapy, couples, and multicultural therapy.

    Ultimately, my goal is for you to receive the best care possible.

    2024

    • Mettā Retreat: Teachings and Practices to Cultivate a Wise, Compassionate, and Responsive Heart, Spirit Rock Meditation Center (12 hrs)

    • Cultivating Focused Attention: An Intensive Retreat for Mental Health Professionals, Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center (20hrs)

    • Supervision Training, Cascadia Training (15 hrs)

    • IFS & Shame Workshop (2 hrs)

    • Somatic Psychedelic Faciliator Certificate, The Embody Lab (36 hrs)

    • Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO) For Couples Therapy, IFS Institute (72 hrs)

    • Beginning Level 2, Somatic Experiencing (24 hrs)

    • Beginning Level 3, Somatic Experiencing (24 hrs)

    • Intermediate Level 1, Somatic Experiencing (24 hrs)

    • Intermediate Level 2, Somatic Experiencing (24 hrs)

    • Mentalizing and Mentalization-Based Treatment with Adults (MBT Adult): An Introduction, Anna Freud Centre (4 hrs)

    • General Psychiatric Management (GPM) for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), McLean Hospital ( 8hrs)

    • Heart-Opening Practices to Release Trauma Responses and Nurture Resilience, Spirit Rock Meditation Center (7.5 hrs)

    2023

    • MDMA-Assisted Therapy Education Program, MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (30 hrs)

    • Beginning Level 1, Somatic Experiencing (24 hrs)

    • Foundational Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) Training, Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (30 hrs)

    • Internal Family Systems Level 1 Training, IFS Institute (90 hrs)

    • Transforming Resistance - Yearlong Seminar in Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) Institute (36 hrs)

    Strong Star Training Initiative

    • Applying CBT Principles to Promote Trauma Recovery to Trans & Nonbinary Individuals

    • Management, Treatment & Resourcing of Suicide Risk

    Trauma Trauma Support Services

    • Moving On: The Chapters of Leaving the Abusive Relationship (2.5 hrs)

    • The Impact of Childhood Trauma Across the Lifespan (3 hrs)

    • The Impact of Family Violence & IPV on Families and Children (1.5 hrs)

    • Life After Death: Overcoming Childhood Trauma (1.5 hrs)

    • Trauma Informed Responses to Sexual Violence (1.5 hrs)

    • Serving Survivors of Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence

      within the Criminal Justice System (1 hr)

    • New Latinx Liberation: Transforming Theory Into Action (1.5 hrs)

    • Developing Clinical Competency in Treating Survivors of Sex Trafficking (1.5 hrs)

    • Serving Survivors of Sexual Assault with Disabilities (1.5 hrs)

    • The Dating Game: Helping Teens Recognize Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships (3 hrs)

    • Black Women & Intimate Partner Violence (1.5 hrs)

    • Equipping to Lead: Emotional Intelligence for Helping Professionals (1.5 hrs)

    • Stalking and Intimate Partner Violence (1.5 hrs)

    • Clinical Support for LGBTQ Survivors of Crime (2 hrs)

    • Marianismo & Machismo: The Perpetuation of Violence (1 hr)

    • Complexities & Considerations in Working with Survivors of Human Trafficking (1.5 hrs)

    • Supporting Latinx Survivors of Sexual Violence (1.5 hrs)

    • Solution Focused Intervention with Survivors of Interpersonal Violence (1 hr)

    • What's In Your Toolbox?: Tools for Recovery (1 hr)

    2022

    • Essentials Skills, AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) Institute (85 hrs)

    • PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy) Level 1 (40 hrs)

    • PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy) Level 2 (40 hrs)

    • Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills: Introduction Behavioral Tech (12 hrs)

    • Mental Health Suicide in 2022: An Update for Professionals, McLean Hospital (6 hrs)

    • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Cognitive Behavior Institute Center For Education (13 hrs)

    • Seeking Safety Training (Substance Use & PTSD), Seeking Safety - Treatment Innovations (6 hrs)

    • Community Resiliency Model (CRM), Trauma Resource Institute (8 hrs)

    Strong Star Training Initiative

    • When OCD & PTSD Present Together

    • Clinical Considerations for the Implementation of CPT Among LGBTAI+ Populations

    • Culturally Adapting Trauma Treatments for Asian Heritage Populations

    Trauma Trauma Support Services

    • Trauma and Couples Therapy: Treading Through Contentious Waters (1.5 hrs)

    • Joy and Sorrow in the Same Cup: Addressing Grief, Loss & Trauma in Adoption (1.5 hrs)

    • Childhood Trauma (1 hr)

    • Healing from Childhood Trauma (3 hrs)

    • How Deep Does Pain Go?: The Impact of Violence Across One's Lifespan (4 hrs)

    • The Neurobiology of Trauma (1.5 hrs)

    • Trauma Informed Care (3 hrs)

    • The Elephant in the Room: Interventions to Treat Trauma (3 hrs)

    • Understanding and Protecting Yourself against Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and Vicarious Traumatization (1 hr)

    2021

    • All Patients Safe: Suicide Prevention for Medical Providers, University of Washington (6 hrs)

    • Attachment Injury Resolution Model (AIRM), Carolina Center For EFT (12 hours)

    • Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy Levels 1 & 2, Carolina Center for EFT (24 hours)

    • Mindful Self-Compassion Core Skills (16 hrs)

    2020

    • Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples - Externship, Portland Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy (30 hrs)

    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Resilience, Cambridge Health Alliance (12 hrs)

    2019

    • Trauma Informed Care & Practical Approaches To Managing Trauma Responses In Eating Disorder Treatment, The Emily Program (21 hrs)

    • Cultural and Trauma-Informed Suicide Assessment & Intervention (8 hrs)

    • Eating Disorder Treatment & Assessment, The Emily Program (12 hrs)

    • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy Immersion, AEDP Institute (37 hrs)

    • Introduction to ACT, Praxis (16 hrs)

    • Motivational Interviewing: An Introduction & An Advanced Training (16 hrs)

    2018

    • Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 1, (16 hrs)

    • Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention, (8 hrs)

    • Harborview Center for Sexual Assault & Traumatic Stress, Trauma Focused CBT, (15 hrs)

    University of California, Berkeley

    • Alcohol and Other Drugs (15 hrs)

    • Introduction to Mindfulness (1 hr)

    • Working With Muslim Students (1 hr)

    • Suicide Prevention (1 hr)

    • Working With Trans Students (1 hr)

    • AEDP (2 hrs)

    • Working With Couples (1 hr)

    • Working With Student Athletes (1 hr)

    • Narrative Therapy (1 hr)

    • Feminist Multicultural Therapy (1 hr)

    • EMDR (1 hr)

    • Sexual Assault Recovery (1 hr)

    • Working With Eating Disorders (1 hr)

    • Working With First Generation Students (1 hr)

    • Working With Chronic Health Issues (1 hr)

    • Working With International Students (1 hr)

    • Working With Undocumented Students (1 hr)

    • NTU Therapy (1 hr)

    • Involuntary Hospitalization & 5150 (1 hr)

    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (1 hr)

    • Interpersonal Therapy (1 hr)

    Seattle Counseling Service

    • Narrative Therapy (1 hr)

    • Self Disclosure (1 hr)

    • Ethics (1 hr)

    • Crisis Assessment (1 hr)

    • Working With Trans Folks (1 hr)

    • Working With Queer Folks (1 hr)

    • Gender Affirming Care (1 hr)

    • Art Therapy (1 hr)

Therapy Approach

how i approach therapy

  • I am a relational therapist because relationships dictate the quality of our lives and well-being.

    I am an experiential therapist because new, healthy experiences can heal old wounds.

    I am an emotion-focused therapist because emotions teach us infinite wisdom about what it is we need and desire.

    I am a somatic therapist because our our body in addition to our mind is where and how we heal.

    I am an attachment-based therapist because our early experiences shape how we see ourselves, relate to others, and navigate the world. 

    I provide culturally responsive and informed therapy because culture shape and permeate every aspect of our lives.

    However, there is no one size fits all approach to therapy.

    Complex solutions requires complex approaches to healing.

    The best therapy for you is the one we create together, taking into account your preferences, personality, culture, as well as my skill, experience, and variety of therapeutic techniques.

    I am LGBTQIA+ responsive, sex positive, poly & kink affirming, and am continually engaging in work toward decolonizing mental health and providing culturally attuned care.

  • My job is to help you face conflicts so you can better understand yourself, feel more free and less stuck, and integrate past wounds.

    Therapy is a relationship where we’ll work together to achieve your goals.

    My job is not to tell you what to do or “fix” you.

    A session may include:

    • Noticing and interrupting negative self-talk/thoughts/beliefs/stories/narratives

    • Provide you education on what may be occurring

    • Offer you my observations around patterns and dynamics

    • Challenging you at times with compassion and curiosity

    • Inquiring about your desires, values, and needs

    • Continued challenges, barriers, difficulties

    • Learning self management skills

    • Facilitating underlying emotions

    • Regulating anxiety

    • Practicing slowing down and curiosity of your internal world

    • Developing more acceptance and compassion

    • Exploring your relationships outside of session.

    • And more

    Please be open to feedback and change if you want your life to be different. I’ll also be open to learning, flexible, and adaptive.

    Life changing therapy is difficult, uncomfortable, slow, and at times, painful.

    Change often happens at the intersection of discomfort, patience, and repetition.

    While healing work is rarely comfortable and easy, I promise to hold you with compassion, respect, and kindness.

    • Beginning & Check In

      • 5-10 minutes

      • Saying hello, reviewing past 1-2 weeks.

      • Easing into the discomfort.

      • Updates and logistical items.

    • Middle & The Work

      • 40-50 minutes

      • Goal consensus: Focusing on what you want to work on.

    • Ending & Review

      • 5-10 minutes

      • Saying goodbye and summarizing.

      • Feedback

      • Compartmentalizing, getting ready for the rest of the day, resourcing, grounding yourself.

      • Assigning optional relational homework.

  • Core components of AEDP include:

    • Practicing curiousity

    • Slowing down when you rush

    • Asking you to go inside of your body

    • Feeling your emotions

    • Healing past wounds through processing unreleased experiences/memories rather than using defensive tactics (distraction, numbing, intellectualization, internalization, dissociation, etc.) that keep you stuck

    The goal is to undo aloneness (self reliance) and move toward an authentic and stronger sense of Self while connecting with others.

  • We have many parts inside of us. Some parts fight with one another keeping us “stuck”.

    This can show up as sabotage, trauma repetition, exhaustion, addictive tendencies, judgement, criticism, guilt, anxiety, and shame.

    I’ll help you understand why you do what you do and learn practical skills you can use when overwhelmed.

    The goal of IFS to integrate all these fractured parts so you can access more of your true Self which includes:

    • Self love

    • Self acceptance

    • Self worth

    • Self confidence

    • Self esteem

  • I’ll inquire about your relationships and how this impacts how you see your yourself, trust others, and relate to intimacy.

    This can show up as avoidance, distraction, fear, anxiety, shame, guilt, etc.

    My job is to gently point these patterns out and provide you new ways of relating so you can learn:

    • Healthy boundaries (how to say no without guilt & setting limits)

    • Assertive communication (ask for what you need)

    • Ways to express your emotions (feeling emotions rather than dealing with thoughts)

  • TIF focuses on co-creating a therapeutic space based on safety, choice, trust, collaboration, respect for diversity, and empowerment.

    You are in control of our sessions.

    The goal is for you to understand the nuances of trauma, pathways toward healing, how to manage triggers and moments of dysregulation, increase flexibility, be more comfortable with uncertainty, feel more embodied and safe, step into your power, instill hope, and create a life worth living.

  • Individual therapy is one part toward healing.

    There must be larger, systemic changes in our families, relationships, communities, society, and world.

    Decolonizing therapy means I am constantly unlearning, learning, and relearning.

    This can show up in session as

    • Inquiring about how systemic issues like racism, sexism, classism, transphobia, ageism, etc. impacts your life

    • Practicing curiosity

    • Understanding your unique context and experiences through historical, political, familial, and generational legacies

    • Challenging incomplete stories/narratives/beliefs with more complete beliefs

    • Centering the healing power of relationships, community, and cultural heritage

    • Encouraging you to take action outside of session as appropriate toward personal values

    • Showing up as my authentic and congruent Self (versus as a neutral/blank slate)

    • lf disclosing and sharing with you my personal experiences if I feel it would benefit you

    • Doing my own work by attending my own personal therapy and consultation

    Click here to read more.

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I Have More Questions

  • Yes, but it depends.

    Research shows about 15 to 20 sessions are required for 50 percent of patients to recover as indicated by self-reported symptom measures.

    Therapy Is More Helpful When:

    • There is a good relationship between client and therapist (personality, temperament, style, approach, feeling understood and validated)

    • Adequate education, training, and skill needed to treat the concerns

    • Regular feedback/measurement toward progress

    • A treatment plan/road map provided

    • Understanding about what therapy is and is not (expectations, boundaries)

    • Hope the therapist can help

    • Treatment model/approach/style matches what client concerns need (e.g. you want a therapist who is active, direct, and talks with you vs. someone who nods at you in silence)

    • Respect for diversity and difference are addressed

    • Read more here, here and here.

    For some people, therapy is ineffective.

    At worst, for some people, therapy is harmful and contributes more to stressors and an increase in negative symptoms.

    This is why it’s important to do your own research, learn about different therapy models, try therapy out for 1-2 sessions, and determine if it’s a good fit for your needs or if you require something else (e.g. coaching, support group, medication, etc.), or that therapy isn’t useful/appropriate for you at this time.

    • To be a professional (follow ethics, confidentiality, respecting your choices/preferences, treat you with respect and kindness, be direct in my communication)

    • To be open to feedback and suggestions

    • To be prompt and on time to session

    • Honest if I can or cannot help you at anytime and provide a referral to another therapist (e.g. if your symptoms don’t get better, if I learn I do not specialize in an area/issue you bring up)

    • Honest if I notice repeated unhelpful patterns and dynamics occurring and to directly communicate this with you

    • Predictability and consistency (sessions at scheduled time, notice when I take time off, providing a backup therapist referral should I be gone for longer than a few weeks)

    • Flexible in my approach (if something doesn’t work for you, I will adjust as needed)

    • To provide you with a treatment plan or roadmap of what to expect during our work together

    • To let you know when I think it is best to stop therapy if you have met your goals, plateaued with me, if I’ve lost objectivity, you’re being harmed in our work, or not getting better in our work

    • To be prompt and on time to session

    • To be open to trying new ways of thinking and being

    • To be honest and direct about your needs/wants

    • To solicit feedback when things aren’t working

    • To honor the therapeutic boundaries

    • To do the work outside of session (practice, practice)

    • To practice patience and acceptance

    • To tolerate the hard work of confronting uncomfortable and painful experiences (healing is rarely easy and fun)

    • To let me know when you think you want to stop or pause therapy, or need another type of therapist/therapy style

  • As a consumer of therapy, it is your responsibility to do your due diligence and research what types of treatment you want to engage in.

    A list of therapeutic modalities/approaches:

  • Therapy is a highly personal experience.

    One person may really benefit from one therapIst, while another person may not.

    This can be due to a variety of reasons including: personality. temperament, approach, style, values, cultural fit, and more.

    It is your responsibility as a consumer of therapy to find a good fit therapist.

    Not all therapists will be a good fit for your needs, concerns, and goals.

    You can ask people you trust for recommendations. If using insurance, you can contact your insurance company and ask them for referrals along with your preferences.

    Once you have a few therapists you’re interested in meeting with, I recommend setting up a consultation and/or reviewing their websites in depth to get a feel for their practice, personality, and approach.

    Use the client’s statements of right (here) as a guide.

    If you are unsure after one session, either consider a different therapist or set up a follow-up session to clarify your concerns. Do not feel pressured to stay with one therapist.

    There are no guarantees counseling will solve all problems, or how quickly changes will occur. There are no miracle cures, but it improves the odds, particularly if you start early.

    • Check my current openings here.

    • The type of therapy I do requires care, reflection, and ongoing review. Like a musician or athlete, repetition and practice is essential for therapists to improve in areas they are growing in. This is called deliberate practice.

    • Recording videos is an essential part of deliberate practice. I review videos to see what is effective and ineffective in session. Sometimes, we review sessions together.

    • Of course, this is optional and you can decline. I follow strict confidentiality guidelines, and videos are regularly deleted.

Online Therapy In Washington State

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