Welcome, I am so glad you are here. Something is directing your healing journey towards therapy – You might sense it in your body as a “knowing,” you might hear it in some quiet voice from within, you might feel it from a place of hopelessness. Wherever this signal is coming from, know that this is your intuition communicating with you. Therapy is a beautiful opportunity to nurture your inner voice, which may be shadowed by traumatic experiences and societal oppression. My primary goal is to foster a transformative space that is safe, non-judgemental, and compassionate.

As a trauma-focused therapist, I am interested in exploring the root causes of your current experiences. I view symptoms as important, although sometimes painful, messengers telling us “something has to change.” I am a strengths-based, mind-body therapist utilizing techniques including Mindful Self-Compassion, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I specialize in supporting queer and trans young people coping with body image and eating issues with gender-affirming, fat-positive, and intuitive eating frameworks. My therapeutic style stems from a firm belief that therapy must be anti-oppressive to be truly healing. Therefore, I am committed to exploring how racism, cisheteropatriarchy, fatphobia, ableism, capitalism, among other forces, have impacted your well-being. An intersectional and liberatory lens can powerfully guide us towards sustainable and values-aligned evolution. 

Seeking a new therapist can feel vulnerable or stressful, and it can also be a loving and courageous act. I hope you know that exploration on its own is a strength to be recognized. It would be an honor to partner with you in this movement towards groundedness, authenticity, and joy. 

Experience

I have previous experience working with queer and trans youth and young adults on their journeys towards self compassion in private practice and university settings. I have collaborated with clients coping with anxiety, depression, suicidality, eating disorders, trauma, and more. Alongside my clinical work, my work as an LGBTQ+ educator, researcher, and youth mentor have nurtured my community-oriented and systems-critical therapeutic approach. 

Licensure

I am a Clinical Fellow at Balanced Awakening. I have several years of clinical experience and am accruing additional supervised practice to be eligible for the LCSW credential in the state of Illinois. I am supervised by Andrea Espinosa, LCSW outside of appointment times.