As twins, my sister and I grew up side by side, experiencing the world simultaneously in many ways. I remember, even as a young girl, recognizing that even though we shared so many of the same experiences, our understanding of them and how they shaped us would differ. I would never know exactly what it was like to be inside my sister’s head. This early understanding and work to put myself into someone else’s shoes drove my ongoing curiosity about people, as well as empathy for their experiences.

By my teen years, I was struggling to navigate some of the familiar challenges of adolescence: body image, a longing to fit in, navigating independence while still needing my family’s support. I was also struggling with anxiety and panic, and it made life really challenging.

Fortunately, I found my way to therapy and began to learn not only about anxiety and how it’s treated, but also the underlying conflicts that contribute to it and manifest in various ways in people’s lives. After being in therapy I began noticing I had more ability to sit with my anxiety and face the things that frightened me. Because of my own experience in therapy, I began to take psychology courses in college and eventually decided I wanted to become a clinical psychologist.

One of the gifts of doing my own growth work was that I could more fully engage in the relationships in my life. I discovered that relationships can be a source of healing and an opportunity to work through conflicts from our past so we can learn new ways to navigate our present.

I also discovered that change happens when we understand ourselves and operate from a space of self-love and compassion. When we stop judging and instead invite ourselves to be curious about our thoughts, feelings, and the patterns we repeat, I believe we open doors for ourselves to operate more consciously and authentically.

I consider my role as a psychologist to be a privilege. The opportunity to stand beside someone as they open up, explore and share their suffering, struggles and also triumphs is an honor. As a therapist, I honor my clients' inherent worth and hold space for them while together we work to understand their unique perspective and how important early relationships and experiences have shaped who they are today.

In addition to working on more in-depth and unconscious processes, I also utilize strategies from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness traditions to provide concrete tools for reducing suffering and increasing emotion regulation. I value my clients’ feedback through the course of treatment and consider the therapeutic alliance to be key to the work of therapy.