“We are here to be eccentric, different, perhaps strange, perhaps merely to add our small piece, our little chunky, chunky selves, to the great mosaic of being. As the gods intended, we are here to become more and more ourselves.”
My Background & Credentials
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Washington School of Social Work. Prior to receiving my degree in 2008, I spent over a decade in union organizing, prison reform, and racial justice work. I taught ESL, spent time in Latin America doing international solidarity and also spent many years working in the fields of domestic violence, sexual assault, queer youth advocacy and foster care counseling and support. This early work in diverse spaces and focused on community empowerment and resilience still informs my work today.
I launched my private practice in 2008.
My approach to therapy is also influenced by the late Milton Erickson and his student Stephen Gilligan, PhD. Erickson believed that the unconscious (the body, felt sense, cosmic consciousness) held within it endless possibilities. He taught that within any negative symptom lies the solution and therefor to honor the suffering that calls our attention. Gilligan carries Erickson’s work into the present through what he calls Generative Change. This orientation speaks to me just as social work did with an emphasis on integrating various models as is needed, focusing on our resilience, and emphasizing the innate power we all have to shape and reshape our experience.
Another mentor to me is Dr. Leticia Nieto who is the creator of the diversity curriculum that I teach called Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment. Being a student of hers and then co-author of her book and trainer of her curriculum has inspired me to incorporate the lens of injustice and empowerment into my work as a therapist. She is a creative, soulful healer and teacher and introduced me to Jungian psychology and experiential healing forms like psychodrama.
My office space is housed in a beautiful old craftsman originally named The Fairmount in West Seattle. The environment is comfortable and has an aged and lived in feel to it.
I am currently a student at Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing institute. I have advanced training in Gottman and Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples. Psychodynamic therapy, attachment, transpersonal psychology, developmental psychology, body awareness and mindfulness are core to my work with individuals and relationships and I have extensive education in these areas as well.
