My Approach
I'm not a blank-slate therapist. I show up as a real person — curious, direct, and genuinely invested in you. Here's what that looks like in practice.
Begin Here
How I Show Up
A lot of therapy is built around the idea that the therapist should be neutral — a blank screen, reflecting things back, staying carefully out of the way. That's a legitimate approach. It's just not mine.
I believe the therapeutic relationship itself is one of the most powerful tools we have. That means I bring myself into the room. I'll tell you what I notice. I'll ask the uncomfortable question. I'll name the pattern you've been circling for years. And I'll do all of that warmly — because challenge and care are not opposites.
Most of my clients are people who are self-aware, articulate, and used to figuring things out on their own. They've often tried therapy before and found it too passive. If that resonates, we'll probably get along.
01
I'm less interested in helping you cope with a problem and more interested in understanding where it came from. When you understand the root, the symptoms tend to shift on their own — and more lastingly.
02
I won't just validate everything you bring in. If I see something you're not seeing — a pattern, a blind spot, a way you're getting in your own way — I'll say it. Kindly. But clearly.
03
Therapy doesn't have to be relentlessly heavy. I laugh with my clients. I think humor and genuine human connection are part of how real change happens — not in spite of the hard stuff, but alongside it.
04
Identity, culture, and the particular texture of your life matter. My practice is LGBTQ+ affirming and Asian American and BIPOC affirming. I pay attention to the ways systems, family dynamics, cultural context, and lived experience of marginalization shape what someone is carrying — not as background, but as central.
What to Expect
People often come in not quite knowing what to expect from therapy — or with experiences from past therapists that didn't quite fit. Here's a clearer picture of what working together looks like.
Clinical Grounding
I don't work from a single rigid framework. My training spans several approaches, and what I bring into the room depends on what you actually need — not a preset protocol.
The core of my work is Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) — helping people access, understand, and work through their emotional experience rather than around it. This sits alongside a biopsychosocial lens, which means I'm always thinking about the whole person: biology, psychology, relationships, culture, and context — not just symptoms in isolation.
When the goal is practical and forward-moving, I draw from brief solution-focused approaches — orienting toward strengths, resources, and what's already working, rather than dwelling endlessly in what isn't. For clients navigating ADHD, executive dysfunction, or life structure challenges, I bring in executive function coaching alongside therapy, helping build concrete systems that work with how their brain is wired.
I also work with the body. Nervous system regulation and somatic techniques are central to how I think about anxiety, trauma, and overwhelm — because the body often holds what the mind hasn't yet found words for. I integrate mindfulness and meditation practices where they fit naturally, and draw on narrative approaches to help people examine the stories they've been telling about themselves — and decide which ones to keep.
I have significant experience in crisis management and high-acuity presentations. I'm also trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute. I'm comfortable working with complex and high-acuity situations.
My PhD is from Palo Alto University (2017), and I hold licensure in California (PSY 30405), with licensure pending in Colorado and Massachusetts.
Get Started
A free 20-minute consultation is a low-pressure way to get a sense of whether we'd work well together.
Request a Consultation