I approach therapy in a highly organic, intuitive way, and have spent many years training my intuitive senses to be able to pick up on things that might otherwise be missed. I tend to be somewhat informal in my practice, operating mostly from a client-centered perspective, utilizing mindfulness as my primary foundation. And I tend to be more interactive, not just sitting and nodding my head but actively engaging you in helping figure out the way through your difficult places and out the other side to greater fulfillment and happiness.
Theoretically I’m eclectic, borrowing from various therapy influences; in addition to mindfulness, I use somatic (mind-body) techniques, emotionally-focused therapy for couples (EFT), empathic self psychology, spirituality (when appropriate), systems theory and even neuropsychology. My basic philosophy is, “Whatever Works.”
Additionally, I have an incredibly diverse personal history, having lived and worked all over the world with a wide variety of peoples and cultures, and having undertaken a wide variety of personal explorations, including:
Professional Dancer
Veterinary Technician
Caterer
Database Design and IT
Graphic and Web Designer
Waiter and Bartender
International Human Rights Activist
Caretaker at a Spiritual Sanctuary
Construction
Scuba Diver
I feel that this rich personal history gives me the ability to connect with pretty much anyone, and to have a sense of what it is that they’re going through, if for no other reason than that I probably have gone through something similar myself! I’ve been told that I show an unusual ability to just accept another’s reality as it is, and to join them there, and it is my hope that this gives me the ability to truly “get” someone else at a level that is not often found.
Certifications & Trainings
Hakomi Professional Skills Training Graduate
April 2009
Hakomi Responding to Life Training Graduate
December 2009
Hakomi Recreation of the Self Graduate
April 2013
Hakomi Institute of California
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Four day externship, June 2013
Core Skills Completion November 2015
Associations
President of the Board – GAYLESTA (The LGBTQ Psychotherapy Association)
Founding Member – Open Minds (Psychotherapists Affirming Sexual & Gender Diversity)
WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health)
CAMFT (California Association for Marriage and Family Therapy)
ICEEFT and NCCEFT (International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and the local Northern California chapter)
Education
M.A. Clinical Psychology
Multicultural Social/Clinical Program
New College of California
San Francisco, CA, 1997
B.A. Zoology
B.A. Art
University of Texas
Austin, TX, 1986