My therapy style is to help clients feel relaxed, by establishing a comfortable atmosphere, sometimes using humor where appropriate, to help clients get to a place where they can speak genuinely and honestly about their lives and their struggles. Coming from a social work background of meeting the client where they are at, I incorporate this stance every step of the way. I have a genuine interest in hearing people's stories, which client’s feel, and they appreciate the attention and connection that is being formed. I gather information through what they say about themselves and how they see themselves in the world, and my focus is to help them reach their goals.

BA - Music, University of California Santa Barbara

MA - Ethnomusicology, University of California Santa Barbara

MSW - Social Work, Hunter College

she/her

I originally came to study social work through a social justice angle, and eventually came to realize I enjoy talking individually with people, learning about their lives and the significant factors they feel have influenced and shaped them. My earlier years were more involved in music performing and teaching, having studied Ethnomusicology. This opened up my intrigue and love for the great and diverse cultures around the world, and beginning to look at how tradition, culture, and our place in the world effects us each differently. I feel that all the things I have done over the years has brought me exactly to this place of being able to sit with a client, listen well to their story, elicit engagement and help them come to a place of knowing themselves and what they want for themselves.

Music (I play the flute) and listening to music; travel; cooking new recipes; pottery; reading; biking; walking and petting my kitties.

Take a walk and leave my phone at home.

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard – her writing is exquisite, she captures the moment and all the feelings that the characters exhibit with efficient and beautiful writing. It's almost like poetry, but in prose form. I often reread sections that I have found to be insightful on some aspect of the human experience.

Fortune Society – they offer a wrap around of services for people caught up in the criminal justice system. It's a place where people can get help building a life for themselves despite the barriers they have had to deal with much of their lives.

My self-care consists of exercise, eating healthy and enjoying time with friends and family. I enjoy bike riding, attending cultural events and being in nature.

I have two cats, Stella and Stanley Kowalski (picture Marlon Brando yelling from the street, Stella!).