A FEW THINGS I'D LIKE YOU TO KNOW ABOUT ME.

I am a queer body of culture learning and unlearning generations of inflicted and sustained trauma. I use she|her|hers and they|them|their pronouns. I’m beyond grateful to have picked up sculling during the pandemic and am still uncertain about my place in this gendered and largely white inhabited space. I practice tarot and do pendulum work when I’m feeling disconnected from my intuition. I do yoga, get daily therapy from my pup and kittens, and will self-prescribe deep breaths to anyone and everyone. I can be mindful and resilient as well as flawed and frenetic. I believe compassion is revolutionary and that connection is healing. I believe in you and your story.

THE LETTERS AFTER MY NAME.

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Critical Gender Studies with a focus in Sexuality from the University of California, San Diego (2006) and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Argosy University, Orange County (2011). I completed my clinical practicum at The LGBT Center, Orange County. During my time at The Center OC, I provided individual, couples, and group counseling services. I also assisted with the administration of The Center OC's low-cost sliding scale counseling program and facilitated trainings/workshops on affirming and culturally competent care for the LGBTQ community. I am a CA Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #86600) and Co-Director and Owner of Gather & Grow OC a group practice offering counseling, education, and wellness services. Along with my clinical training in mental health, I am also a trauma-informed and therapeutically focused Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher.

LGBTQ | NON-MONOGAMOUS | KINK | SEX WORKER

AFFIRMATIVE, KNOWLEDGEABLE, & TRAUMA INFORMED HEALING SERVICES

SERVICES OFFERED.

• Trauma Informed Individual and Relationship Therapy for Adults

• Culturally Competent and Affirming Individual and Relationship Coaching for Adults

• Consultations for Other Providers Looking to Increase Their LGBTQ, Polyamorous, Kink, and Sex Worker Cultural Competency

• Support With Accessing Gender Transition Services (Including Letter Writing)

• Public Speaking & Educational Workshops

FOLKS I TEND TO WORK WELL WITH.

• Highly Sensitive Activists

• Heart Driven Academics

• Progressive Tiger Moms Nurturing Our Next Generation

• Self-Made Men Creating the Reflections They Didn’t Have

• Conscious Tenderqueers of All Persuasions

• People of Color Invested in Joy

• White Folks Invested in Equity

AREAS OF COMPREHENSION

The Social Construction of Gender: The cultural and social creation of gender. The policing of gendered bodies, gender identities and gender presentation and performance.

Institutional Gate Keeping + Gender Discrimination: Legal, medical and political biases challenging the affirming care of transgender and gender variant individuals-- especially in regards to requiring mental health assessments for hormone replacement and surgery.

Power in the Egalitarian Therapy Room: Consciousness to intersectionality and the effects of intersectionality on the therapeutic relationship. Critical Analysis of safe and egalitarian space creation.

Privilege + Oppression: Validating lived experiences of oppression rather than pathologizing environmental and situationally invoked symptoms. Utilizing acceptance of privilege to increase sense of internal locus of control and effectiveness in daily functioning.

Queerness and Marginalization: Critical understanding of how experiences of queerness and marginalization affect core personality and beliefs about oneself.