Specialties.
My experiences with diverse clients allow me to work with a wide range of issues using my treatment specialties. I do specialize in working with specific cultural and ethnic groups and social and mental health conditions.
Who I work with
Adults — navigating anxiety, depression, relational issues & trauma, job stress & burnout, immigration & acculturation, cultural & systemic oppression, disability, loss/grief, or a major life transition.
Couples — rebuilding communication, working through conflict, creating a cohesive co-parenting dynamic, or repairing trust.
Filipino and AAPI clients — culturally-responsive care from a bilingual (Tagalog/English) therapist who brings both lived and clinical understanding, so you don't have to translate your context before the real work begins.
First responders — I've spent years working alongside law enforcement and first-responder systems, including designing diversion programming and consulting on justice-involved crisis response. Sessions are trauma-informed and confidential, built around the specific pressures of service work.
Justice-involved individuals & families — reentry, family strain during incarceration, and the transition back to daily life. This work draws directly from over a decade inside California's correctional and re-entry systems — not from the outside looking in.
Modality - frameworks I integrate into my somatic work
All work is somatic — meaning we pay attention to what's happening in the body, not just what's happening in the story, because trauma lives in our bodies, not in the event.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a skills-focused, evidence-based practice that helps clients identify patterns of negative thinking and behavioral habits that are keeping them stuck. It’s recommended in the treatment of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and many other mental health concerns. I pull techniques from the latest psychology research to help my clients identify which techniques work well in their lives. I often give an “in between session activity,” like tracking negative thoughts, practicing relaxation techniques, or trying new habits, to get my clients actively easing their painful symptoms.
Somatic Experiencing® (SE™)
This method is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress conditions. The SE™ approach releases traumatic shock and restores connection, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. I am SE™-informed and am trained in the fundamentals of SE™ techniques, although I am not a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner at the moment. I apply the SE™ framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight, or freeze responses and provide adaptive strategies for individuals to resolve these fixated physiological states.
The Gottman Method for Couples Therapy, Relationship Therapy & Co-Parenting Therapy
Therapy with couples, with those who are no longer together yet are co-parenting, and with those wanting to deepen their connections to a loved one requires an active, engaged therapist trained in evidence-based interventions to help with communication. I’ve completed the Level 1 training in Gottman Method Therapy, a therapeutic approach that is the gold standard for treating many issues that can interrupt a strong relationship. I help couples, co-parents, friends, and families:
Learn productive communication skills
Rekindle love, friendship, and closeness if distance has developed
Resolve conflicts and gridlocked issues
Heal from infidelity and trust issues of all kinds
Develop collaborative co-parenting
Improve sex and intimacy for partners