A companion along the way.
I am a first-generation Chicana psychologist who believes in the mind-body-spirit connection and the transformative power of emotions. I find purpose in working with BIPOC communities and am dedicated to inclusive practice.
I welcome people of all identities, particularly those who have felt estranged — like they don't belong. My intention is to create a safe and welcoming space where we can uncover your authentic self and help you live in a way that connects with you.
I take a collaborative approach, and my therapeutic style is direct, genuine, and warm. I am curious to find out the real you and to help you discover your own innate wisdom. The process may bring tears or be light with laughter. It's a journey — and ultimately it's your journey; I am a helpful companion along the way.
I am an integrative psychologist, which means I use different evidence-based approaches to fit what each person needs rather than fitting each person to one method. Currently, I am also exploring and learning about curanderismo and indigenous and spiritual practices.
- Doctorate
- PhD, Clinical-Health Psychology
University of Miami, Florida - Internship & fellowship
- Long Beach VA Medical Center — internship and post-doctoral fellowship
- Undergraduate
- UCLA — research assistant on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) studies; began Vipassana training
- Licensure
- Licensed psychologist, California
- Experience
- Over a decade as a clinician
- Languages
- English · Español
Integrative means the method fits you.
These are the evidence-based approaches I draw on. In a given hour you may notice two or three of them; you should never have to notice the seams.
- 01Emotion-focused therapy
- An empirically supported humanistic treatment that views emotions as central to how we function and how we change. We do not talk about feelings from a distance; we let them do their work.
- 02Mindfulness
- Increasing awareness of yourself and your surroundings by observing thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations without judgment — and cultivating acceptance, letting go, and gratitude. I began training in Vipassana meditation at UCLA as a research assistant on MBSR studies.
- 03Insight-oriented therapy
- Deepening understanding of our emotions, motivations, fears, and desires — making the unconscious conscious — so that we live aligned with what we actually want now.
- 04Cognitive behavioral therapy
- A short-term, goal-oriented approach that focuses on changing patterns of thinking and behavior that are not helping.
- 05Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Helping people behave more consistently with their own values, and apply mindfulness and acceptance to experiences that cannot be controlled.
- 06Humanistic therapy
- Trusting a person’s individual nature and instincts to find wisdom, growth, and fulfillment within themselves.
- 07Legacy therapy
- A growing form of palliative care that encourages aging or seriously ill people to tell their stories in a form that can be kept by friends and family.
See how I work in the room.
The three principles I return to in every hour — presence, meaning, the mind-body connection — and what a first session is actually like are on the approach page. Fees, insurance, and the office are on contact & fees.