My Approach to Helping
***I'm currently accepting new clients based in California for online therapy via Zoom.*** Are you an adolescent who feels crippled by anxiety and depression? Or a couple who feels trapped in a cycle of distrust, blame, and feeling unheard, unseen, or misunderstood by your partner? Or maybe you are an adult living with chronic illness and trauma and feel hopeless that you’ll ever truly heal and live your life free of invisible disability? I’ve been where you are and know what it’s like to feel stuck, afraid, lost and alone. Seeking therapy is the beginning of you blooming into a lotus flower and rising from the ashes. You have the answers within you and the capacity to heal. I'm a transpersonal therapist here to walk alongside you on your journey to reclaim inner peace, self-compassion, and love. I approach therapy by recognizing the complex and unique being you are and honoring your resilience that has brought you here.
More Info About My Practice
In my work with clients, I treat the whole person by using a blend of somatic trauma therapy, breathwork, shamanic journeying and guided imagery, inner child healing, mindfulness and compassion, and meditation. In addition to the somatic trauma treatment models called the Comprehensive Resource Model® (CRM) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), I also use Internal Family Systems (IFS), which I will be fully IFS-informed by the end of September and have already begun parts work with clients. In my work with couples, I use Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT). Together, we can explore and process your deeper emotions and feelings, allow what is arising to be there, and identify what is holding you back from living as your empowered Higher Self :)
How My Own Struggles Made Me a Better Therapist
For over a decade, I lived with invisible disability and have been on my own spiritual wellness journey to heal chronic illness, both physical and psychological. Yet I didn't always know that I wanted to be a psychotherapist. My journey into the mental health field is a very circuitous and non-linear one, much like the healing process itself.
Along my path, I have learned about countless healing modalities and have attended dozens of retreats, workshops, trainings, and conferences. Working with a diverse array of gifted transpersonal healers, mentors, therapists, and coaches has deepened my passion for inner transformation work as well as guiding others on their own healing journeys. I've taken what I've learned from my therapists and coaches and apply this to my work with my psychotherapy clients.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies (Social Justice) from UC Santa Cruz in 2011. Following graduation, I worked with various human rights, social justice, and environmental conservation nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and abroad (i.e. Monteverde, Costa Rica). I was passionate about their noble missions and the causes were close to my heart. I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life as an activist and global citizen.
Until I kept getting sick in part due to trauma and chronic stress. I was burned out. I knew that if I kept going the way I was, I would continue to spiral and land myself in the hospital. So I quit my demanding nonprofit job and checked myself into an alternative and holistic health center.
When I returned home after 6 weeks, I felt lost with no direction. What was I going to do with my life now? Then one night, I heard a voice inside me whisper: "Chiara, become a therapist." So I listened and responded to this call because it excited my spirit. I had found my newfound purpose in life. It was at this time when I realized that in order to heal the world, I must first heal myself.
