MY SPECIALTIES
INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING
I use a blend of evidence-based practices and an existential approach to tailor individual counseling to your needs. I tend to be forward focused and problem oriented, while also recognizing the need to look to the past in order to understand why you have landed where you are.
GSRD COMMUNITY
I'm passionately committed to supporting members of the gender, sexual and relationship diverse community. My lived experiences and extensive training inform my therapeutic approach, whether inclusion in this community is causing issues that brings you to therapy or is just part of who you are,
COUPLES/THROUPLES/CONSTELLATIONS
Navigating relationships is what often brings people to therapy, and entering therapy with the other people in your life is often the best way to make long lasting changes. I work on helping all partners take perspective with compassion as well as being able to identify and speak up to have their own needs met.
BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER
GRIEF AND LOSS
I've come to view grief and loss as most often the core issues that bring people to therapy. Depression? Often the result of losing something important. Anxiety? The fear of potentially losing it.
At a more direct level, though, the death of someone important can send us into a tailspin. Most often the big emotions resolve themselves over time, but I'm here to help for those sticky issues that just don't go away. I've had experience, both personal and professional, with losses of all types, including both the expected and unexpected, and can help you navigate the often challenging emotions that go along with grief.
EXISTENTIAL THERAPY
Existential therapy was my first love in graduate school and remains how I tend to view the world. As humans, we are driven to find a meaning and suffer when we don't have a purpose. We tend to fear death and will go to great lengths to avoid that fear. And we experience both the joy and burden that come with knowing we have freedom and choice over our lives. These themes often produce rich results in therapy, and can help guide you through periods of crisis.
PHONE
408.757.0656
BPD is characterized by experiencing emotions in large ways, and reacting in ways that seem out-of-control or risky. This can make for an incredibly bumpy road through life, both for people with BPD and the people who love them. If you need help navigating a relationship with someone with BPD, or if you have traits yourself and want to get your life back under control, I may be able to help.
DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY
Much of my professional life is devoted to treating people using DBT, an evidence-based treatment that helps people manage issues caused by emotional dysregulation. DBT relies on mindfulness at its core, and works to help people build skills to tolerate distress, regulate their emotions, increase in interpersonal effectiveness and generally be able to lead lives they see as worth living. I incorporate many of the DBT ideas into my work in private practice, but we also have the option of working with my team at DBT Center of Silicon Valley if you and I decide you could benefit from more adherent, comprehensive DBT.
TRAUMA
I use a trauma-informed approach, recognizing the widespread impact of trauma on your life. Additionally I have specific training and experience in using DBT-PE and TF-CBT (both evidence based practices) to address trauma and help you make sense of what has happened to you.