Our upbringings are formative, and we are wired to seek connection and belonging.  Sometimes, we are hindered by the part of ourselves that once helped us survive, belong, or meet others’ expectations.  You may be someone who is used to holding it together and getting things done, while inwardly feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, anxious, or misaligned with what is most important to you.  Perhaps you are navigating impactful or traumatic life events, noticing patterns in your relationships, balancing competing priorities and sociocultural expectations, trying to move from surviving to thriving, or exploring who you are and what is most important to you.  Perhaps you have reflected on where your feelings originate, but you are left uncertain as to what comes next, and whether therapy might even be helpful in this process. 

In therapy, I hope to co-create a safe and authentic space where you can come as you are, and we can collaboratively strategize wellness, empowerment, and growth – however you define them.  You are the expert of your life, and the writer of your story.  My role is to accompany you for a chapter (or two) of your experiences, holding dialogue to understand what has shaped you, what may be holding you back, and what would move you toward a life that feels more meaningful, authentic, and aligned with your values.  I believe that our identities, cultures, families, relationships, ancestral histories, bodily experiences, and present circumstances all interactively shape how we exist and feel today.  Experiences from the past reverberate into the present, sometimes across generations.  I listen for these echoes, and I  approach dialogue with curiosity and humility about how things come together for you. 

My Approach

My perspectives are rooted in feminist, multicultural, anti-racist, decolonial and liberation psychology, and I work from an integrative orientation.  This means that I use a variety of psychotherapeutic approaches and tools fitted to the interplay of a person’s circumstances, identities, lived experiences, and goals.  I am especially attuned to the systemic prejudices underpinning experience— racism, sexism, classism, sizeism, ageism, ableism, casteism, colorism, hair discrimination—and I welcome dialogue exploring all of these, and others yet unnamed.  Two questions guide my work: 1) how do development and intersectional identities contextualize current experiences; and 2) how can I empower someone to overcome barriers to wellness & self-efficacy as they define it?  Because therapy is not one-size-fits-all, I integrate strategies from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-Focused CBT, among others.  

Many of my clients and supervisors have described me as warm, collaborative, humble, and client-centered.  Therapy did not exist as a concept in my own upbringing (and when it began to, it was stigmatized as self-indulgent or taboo), so I recognize the unique factors that may position it to be challenging.  

Experience

I earned my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from John Jay College at the City University of New York, an APA-accredited program with training focuses in forensic psychology and social justice.  Prior to this, I completed a master’s degree in Neuroscience and Education at Columbia University, and undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Human Development at Virginia Tech.  My clinical training has spanned university counseling centers, community mental health centers, trauma clinics, and inpatient psychiatric settings, where I have provided individual and group psychotherapy.  Before my graduate training, I volunteered at regional crisis hotlines, and served as a state-certified Hospital Advocate for survivors of acute sexual assault.  

I am currently training in Imago Relationship Therapy.  

Licensure

I am a postdoctoral resident at Balanced Awakening. I have several years of clinical experience, yet require additional supervised practice before being eligible for licensure in the state of Illinois. I am supervised by Dr. Caitlin Stumpner and Dr. Hannah Yang outside of appointment times.