ABOUT ME
​Hello!
I am a therapist who was a full time musician and music teacher before becoming a therapist (I play violin and sing and still do both!). I grew up with BIG emotions that often weren't held in a way that would make me feel safe or seen. Through therapy, I have learned how to build my capacity for big emotions and wield my sensitivities into an instrument that I can fully embrace. Being 'too sensitive' is now a part of myself that I love and am thankful for. Hmm... what else? Adult ballet classes feed my soul and I love my dog, Sansa, who I'll bring into session sometimes. I really like to watch RuPaul's Drag Race. I am Greek-American and consider myself bicultural, having grown up very culturally Greek in America. I believe that we live in a white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal society that impacts mental health - particularly for marginalized communities.
​
Because I grew up equating intensity with love, I believed conflict was proof of passion. It felt familiar to me to be unsettled and confused with a partner that I also loved and respected deeply. That's one of the hardest emotional conundrums to go through, in my opinion! Therapy is where I began to learn the tools that nurture loving, sustainable relationships (and also learned, maybe it didn't need to be that difficult). Because of this, I've become obsessed with how to create safe and secure, healthy relationships and I find it completely rewarding to see my clients transform through the therapeutic process too.
You can expect a balance between directness and holding space when you come to see me. I am engaged in the process with my clients and I like to incorporate creativity and humor into my sessions. I have strong convictions (based on research) of how relationships work and how they do not work and I feel very comfortable naming the dynamics I see in the room and what you might do to make positive changes. I like talking about anything with my clients - Sex life? Future planning? Betrayal? Neurodiversity? - We can talk about that and anything else you bring in. Clients who are yearning for growth and are motivated to try something different will be more likely to experience the clarity and relief they are looking for when working with me.
​
​
​​
​My Office. My dog. My dog in my office. :)
But what you really want to know is... Yes, I know what I'm doing and I love what I do.
​
OK, here are some of my credentials and training:
I am a psychotherapist and Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. I am a 2022 graduate of the California Institute of Integral Studies' Integral Counseling Program.
​
-
The PACT Institute
-
Level 1 PACT Training
-
-
Relational Life Institute , Trauma and Opportunity: The RLT Approach to Working With Infidelity
-
The PACT Institute
-
From Trauma to Trust: Treating Betrayal in Couples
-
-
Gottman Method Couples Therapy Training, Level II
-
Protect Your Peace: A Proven Method on being in relationship with Emotionally Immature Parents by Morgan Pommells
-
National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine, Racial Confrontations, Systemic Racism, and Vicarious Trauma: How to Help Clients Navigate Them
-
National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine, Working with the Painful Legacy of Intergenerational Racial Trauma
-
Pacific Gestalt Institute , “Being With What Is” Workshop Series
-
Stanford Contemplation by Design Summit, Trauma-specific Treatment Interventions including Contemplative Practices and Other Non-pharmacological Methods and Activities, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
-
Stanford Graduate School of Business, T-Group Introductory Seminar​
​
My practice is also very much influenced by Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Buddhist philosophy, Gestalt Awareness Practice and Parts Work, Feminist theory, Liberation Psychology, Psychodynamics and Attachment theory, and is Trauma-Informed using Polyvagal Theory and the mind-body connection. ​
​
I can't wait to meet you!
​
Contact Me to set up an appointment.
​
