I have been working with individuals and families since 1998 by helping them to make changes in their lives. I obtained my Master's and Doctoral degrees from Alliant International University, California School of Professional Psychology. Prior to my graduate studies, I had worked with adolescents and families in teen shelters, a residential treatment program, an outdoor wilderness program, and drug and alcohol inpatient program. During graduate school, I worked with individuals, couples, and families and provided psychological assessments in various settings such as community clinics, a day treatment program, and a school. I have worked with a variety of clients spanning all different races, sexual orientations, religions, ability, and socioeconomic status.
Individual Therapy
I have worked with individuals since 1998 and specifically in clinical settings since 2004. I have worked with issues of depression, anxiety, suicidality, parenting, sexual problems, chronic pain/chronic disease (e.g., headaches, arm pain, fibromyalgia, diabetes, cancer), chronic mental health problems (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders), trauma (e.g., sexual abuse, physical abuse, rape, shooting, ritualized abuse, marital rape, domestic violence, attempted murder), substance abuse, foster care, adoption, finding support systems and/or romantic relationships, anger problems, school problems, legal problems, work problems, issues related to careers, and issues of discrimination. I have had a breadth of experience with people dealing with many different issues.
No matter what the problem is, I have found it easy to build a good relationship with clients and help them to examine their problems, learn skills to dealing with those problems, and make improvements in their life. I also help them to connect with others around them so that when they're done with therapy, they have a support system helping them to maintain the positive gains they have obtained through their work in therapy. In working with my clients, I use a general relational approach, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), and aspects of Positive Psychology, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, and Narrative Therapy.
Adolescents and Families
I have always enjoyed working with teens and their families because despite the problems that they have, most teens want to be closer to their family and most families want to be closer to their teens. Adolescence is a period of time when children are reconsidering their values and beliefs and making them their own, which on one hand can lead to rebellion from their family's values, but on the other hand, it's can be a time for openness to change. It can be a challenging time to work through, but it can be very rewarding to see positive changes and the happiness of a parent who sees a child's continued success.
When working with teenagers, I also work with their parents, siblings, grandparents, and other important people in their lives. Many times when a couple comes in due to problems with their teenager, it affects their marriage, which in turn, doesn't make things better in their relationship with their teen. We often work on multiple levels to help make everyone in the family happier not just the child. In single parent families, the task may be to develop support for the parent or to help them to work through their own issues in order to have enough energy to deal with their teen's needs.
Couples Therapy
While working with teens and families, I have gained experience working with couples. A happy, more satisfied couple allows them to be happier, more satisfied parents. When parents are having trouble with their children, it can get in the way of their relationship with each other, and the relationship may get put on the backburner while they focus on their children. A partner is more than just another person to help with the parenting. They are there to help support their partner when they're down, to have someone to listen to them when they are having difficulties, help them de-stress and have fun, and work together so they don't get burnt out on parenting. Sometimes couples come into therapy when they've already decided that they are going to end the marriage or relationship. In these cases, I help them manage the transition from being married, to separated/divorced and help them to develop a way of interacting that can best support their children and help their children during these difficult times. The therapy can extend to issues of coparenting, dealing with loss, disappointment, and anger, and eventually to building a new life, developing new relationships, and possibly a new family.
In addition to working with couples around issues of parenting a teenager, I have worked with couples who are in the early stages of forming a relationship. Many times, issues can arise at this time and resolving them can help develop a happy, long-term relationship. Clients I've worked with have dealt with issues of infidelity, supporting an ill loved one, dealing with in-laws, dealing with sexual problems, domestic violence, questioning sexual orientation, dealing with a history of abuse and trauma, finding positive ways to communicate, learning how to get their needs met, dealing with issues of substance abuse, parenting problems, starting new relationships, and preparing for and adjusting to having children.
Psychological Assessment
Over the past four and a half years, I have been providing psychological assessments for children and teens who are struggling with education-related problems. I assisted in teaching intellectual assessment, psychodiagnostic assessment, and have taken courses in neuropsychological assessment. I have provided testing services for a variety of children and adults dealing with problems related to learning disabilities, ADHD, bipolar disorder, mental retardation, schizophrenia, and the effects of trauma. I have found that my skills in psychological assessment also prove useful in my therapeutic treatment of clients as it sharpens my ability to assess symptoms and formulate treatment.
Theoretical Orientation
My training has been in family systems theories such as Narrative Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, Strategic Family Therapy, Brief Therapy, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Behavioral Family Therapy, Gottman Coupes Therapy, Multidimensional Family Therapy and Brief Strategic Family Therapy. I have also trained in cognitive behavioral models such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure with Response Prevention, Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), and Schema Therapy and general psychodynamic theory.
For more information about my training and experience, see my resume