About Me

What I offer as a therapist comes not only from education and training, but also from lived experience. I am a BIPOC international adoptee who is autistic and who has had mental health struggles. I have experienced various modalities of therapy and multiple forms of treatment as a client. I always enjoyed therapy and wondered what it would be like to sit on the other side of the room! It took a while to make that a reality.

 

I received my undergraduate degree in 2010 in Human Biology at Stanford University with an area of concentration in Global Public Health and Infectious Disease. I was working towards a career in public health and epidemiology (the study of diseases); however, various factors did not seem to coalesce. I know what it’s like to feel a lack of purpose and desperately search for meaning. It was in this place that I felt a calling to become a therapist.

 

I earned my Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology in 2018 from John F. Kennedy University in San Jose. I completed internships at two counseling agencies, an elementary school, and a private practice. My areas of focus include mood disorders, adoption and attachment issues, and relational issues. I am continually learning and expanding my knowledge as a clinician. I maintain an active membership with California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT).

 

Outside of therapy, I am very involved in movements for social justice. I also fight to break down the stigma of mental illness, both in my personal life, and through my work with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Santa Cruz County.