About the Therapist

My Story:

I wear many hats in my life - or, another way of saying this is I have many parts. In fact, everyone has many parts. Parts that want to go to a party, parts that want to stay home in bed. Parts that get angry. Parts that feel responsible or take care of everyone else. Parts that are perfectionistic. Parts that have had enough. 

Some of my most cherished parts are my Mom Parts: all the parts associated with how I care for my (three) children and how they are polarized with the parts of me that want to be alone, to work, or to spend time with friends, sans responsibility. These parts have informed how I show up as a therapist in a profound way. But perhaps most importantly, by getting to know my parts more deeply, I’ve become a more clear, calm, and compassionate mom. I'm not gonna lie - it's not always easy. Sometimes things fall apart and I feel shame and there's always lots of grief. But it's definitely worth it. My kids are worth it, and so am I.  

Not so side note: Working on my own parts is as important to me as eating. As a therapist I believe that in order to be helpful to others, I need to have as much access to my true Self as possible. That means being in constant relationships with the parts of me that get activated, triggered, exhausted, or stressed out. HOW do I do this? Therapy, acupuncture, walking my dog, exercising, closing my eyes and going inside myself whenever I have the opportunity. Listening to the stories, fears, hopes, and beliefs of my parts helps them feel heard, understood, and validated. Being WITH and BEFRIENDING the parts inside of you is how true, long term healing happens.
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I learned this when I went back to school when I was 38 years old, when my youngest was 15 months old. Most everyone said I was crazy to embark on a master's degree with three kids in tow. (Except my husband, who, thankfully, was unequivocally supportive. Yes, I picked a good one - we've been together for over 30 years.) The thing is, I always knew I wanted to be a therapist, but a part of me knew I needed to wait until after I had my kids. And, I had a love of musical theater and acting so I got my B.A. in Drama from UC Irvine. The truth is, theater and psychology go hand in hand - getting to know a character and embodying that character is all about listening. Listening to their story, their emotions... befriending their parts. I'm a student of the human condition, however you look at it. I'm innately curious and I also have parts that want to help, support, and heal. So, off I went to JFK University and received a Master's in Holistic Counseling Psychology. Going back to school as a bonafide adult was one of the most fulfilling and exciting opportunities of my life.  

My first internship was at Hospice of the Valley in San Jose, doing grief counseling. This year impacted me in a way that shaped who I am as a therapist and how I conceptualize everything. Spoiler - there's always grief alongside, underneath, and around all of our experiences, even if there's no actual death. That really resonated with me as a mom. My final grad school project was "Disenfranchised Grief in Pregnancy Loss and Motherhood."

After HOV, I moved on to working in elementary and middle schools and doing clinical work at a couple of different local agencies. Following those internships, I co-founded Family Tree Wellness, a group practice that was focused on reproductive mental health. My former business partner and I did that for four years, through the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a wild ride, but I loved it. During that time, together we created many trainings and workshops that we held for moms and other therapists, ultimately developing enough content to write a book. In May of 2024, we found an agent who then found us a publisher. (OMGEEEE!) So be on the lookout for our book, When Good Moms Feel Bad: An Empowering Guide for Transforming Guilt, Anxiety, and Anger into Compassion, Confidence, and Connectedness, to be published by Hachette in the spring of 2026.   

After getting the green light on the book, we decided to focus our energies on completing that project together and running our own businesses, so we made the difficult decision to close Family Tree Wellness. At that point, in addition to my private practice, I had the privilege of founding Second Street Collective, which is a community of licensed mental health professionals in private practice, who collaborate and support each other in our meaningful work. Head over to that website if you’d like to read more about it, or if you'd like to find a therapist for a family member or a friend.  There’s lots of stellar folks over there.

In my spare time, you can find me in my garden, growing flowers and hot peppers (my husband LOVES spicy food), or spending quality time with my friends and family. And finally, I have a cat named Kit Kat, and an Aussiedoodle named Biscuit. When all else fails, put a purring kitty or a snuggly dog on your lap and your blood pressure comes way down.