About Me
I believe that each person on this earth, whether a child or adult, has the right to live a life without constant pain and heartache. Sure there will be experiences in everyone's life that cause trauma. But often, when a person doesn't heal, he or she lives a life constantly triggered, constantly reacting to the painful experience as if it were occurring in the here and now. My goal is to help children and families heal from their trauma and be able to go on while living a healthier, happier life.
I have been working with children in the field of mental health since 1995 and became a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in 2002. Over the years, I have developed a specialty working with children who have experienced major traumas such as sexual and physical abuse, witnessing domestic violence, parental divorce and separation, as well as, general young child behavioral and emotional problems. I have been trained in evidenced-based treatment modalities such as
EMDR, PCIT, PCAT, TF-CBT, and many other therapeutic models and techniques. I come from a cognitive behavioral and systems background. However, I use an eclectic mix of theoretical perspectives to make sure the therapuetic work is taylored to match each individual client.
I received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Masters of Science in Counseling at California State University, Hayward. I have been able to be a part of several wonderful agencies such as Chadwick Center of Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, Eastfield Ming Quong (EMQ) in Campbell, California, and Giarretto Institute in San Jose, California.
In 2006, I published my first book titled, Welcome to Therapy, to provide a child friendly explanation of the therapeutic process to kids and their parents. With it's colorful pages depicting various ethnicities and genders, children and adults alike should be able to connect wtih the characters. If you would like a copy of my book, you may contact me or find it online at Barnes and Noble or the Amazon website, and type in either the title or my name. Stay tuned for other products currently in the works, in hopes of creating healthier minds and hearts of children everywhere.
I have been married to my college sweetheart, a loving and supportive husband, for ten+ years and am the mother of two amazing children.