My Approach to Helping

Are you unhappy with your relationship or struggling to cope with a life transition, loss, recently diagnosed chronic illness, or your child’s behavioral and emotional problems? Do you feel stuck, overwhelmed and frustrated? Does your physical appearance make you insecure or unhappy? Do you feel like you are having difficulties managing problematic lifestyle behaviors (weight management and smoking)? Do you feel your son or daughter has become irritable, stressed, unhappy, or is exhibiting low self-esteem and you have tried everything to make it better and haven’t been able to help him or her?
At some point in our lives, everyone experiences obstacles and challenges to overcome. Although you might be hesitant to seek therapy and support, it may be the right path towards a better understanding of yourself, development of positive coping strategies, healthier relationships, and overall a best version of yourself. My mission is to help clients develop a comprehensive and profound understanding of their physical health, psychological health and their environment, as these aspects mutually affect each other and contribute to mood symptoms. I am committed to providing a safe environment in which you can gain insight about the mind-body interaction.
I am open-minded, culturally flexible, empathetic and non-judgmental which has allowed me to relate well to others and build excellent relationships with my clients as well as help them gain awareness, change, grow and thrive. I tailor treatment based on each client's idiosyncrasies, life experiences, goals and needs; as my exposure to clients from all walks of life with complex psychological and emotional difficulties have shown me that no one client is the same and each processes emotions differently. I work collaboratively with my clients to identify their goals and work through their emotions during their inner therapeutic discovery. My treatment is focused on assisting clients reach a state of happiness, self-acceptance and fulfillment by implementing empirically-based interventions including cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, motivational interviewing, interpersonal and acceptance and commitment therapy.

More Info About My Practice

My specialties include improving mood symptoms, communication skills, relationship issues, low self-esteem, conflict resolution, anger management, parenting stress, child behavioral and academic difficulties, problematic lifestyle behaviors (smoking and weight management), and couples counseling. I have extensive experience in the area of trauma, grief and loss, and life transitions. I also conduct psychological, psychoeducational and presurgical evaluations.

Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With

One of my areas of expertise includes treatment during periods of medical illness or subsequent to being diagnosed with an acute medical issue or disability. I have extensive clinical experience treating medically compromised clients, facilitating their adjustment to their medical condition and assisting them with the management of chronic pain to improve their quality of life. I am passionate about helping them achieve their optimal level of functioning by assisting them in navigating life challenges related to their medical condition or its treatment.

My View on the Purpose of Psychotherapy

Every client's purpose of seeking psychotherapy services is different and may change during the course of treatment as the client gains deeper self-awareness. For some clients, therapy is a means of addressing depression, anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem, self-doubt, family problems or an unhealthy relationship. Whereas for others, it's about learning to cope with their child's emotional, behavioral or academic difficulties or a new reality such as a medical diagnosis, divorce, loss, an ill parent or an empty nest. There are also clients that seek therapy just to talk openly with someone who's objective about everyday short-term problems they need help navigating. Therapy offers the opportunity to develop insight about yourself, solve the problem that brought you in and also gain new skills so you can better cope with whatever challenges arise in the future.

What I Love about Being a Psychotherapist

I am a firm believer that the health of a person goes beyond his-her physical state; a person's psyche is just as important, if not more, than all of his-her physiology. I enjoy gaining a deeper understanding of the human mind and playing a clinical role in improving the psychosocial functioning of others. I love helping my clients process emotions, gain more adaptive ways of coping and seeing them heal and thrive. I thoroughly enjoy witnessing the evolution of my clients' progress.