I am a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice. I am currently licensed in California and Tennessee. I received my Masters in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University where I focused on LGBT Affirmative Mental Health. Prior to finishing my graduate studies, I worked at the LA LGBT Center where I obtained experience working with individuals, couples and groups.
As a practicing psychotherapist I became acutely aware that a more embodied approach to psychotherapy, which uses somatic interventions and honors the mind-body connection is needed in order to achieve successful results. I attended the Mindful Education Institute where I learned how mindfulness practices can be integrated into psychotherapy.
I spent 4 years working as a clinician with foster and post adoption youth and their families. Later on, I found myself utilizing mindfulness interventions with the youth and their families in order to reduce symptoms and boost their sense of agency and well-being. I gained invaluable experience as a therapist in community mental health and got certification in a variety of evidence-based practices such as trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy and Seeking Safety.
My passion for psychotherapy led me to expand my work into teaching. In the past I have served as an adjunct faculty at Phillips Graduate Institute where I greatly enjoyed teaching applied therapeutic methodology and being a research mentor to therapists that are entering the field.
Post licensure, in addition to working in private practice, I continued to be involved in community mental health where I spent a year supervising a family therapy program for transitional age youth at risk for psychosis. From 2015 to 2019 I was on staff at the Behavioral Health Services department of UCLA, where I worked with undergraduate and graduate students seeking mental health services.