Helping Orientation

I hold a M.A. in Somatic Counseling Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies (2015) and a B.A. in English & Writing at Loyola Marymount University (2005).  My career has spanned education, corporate & legal settings, tech, writing, yoga, social services and community mental health. Prior to launching Attune Within, I studied at the Center for Somatic Psychotherapy as a private practice trainee, served dual-diagnosed homeless in San Francisco residential treatment, and provided in-community therapy to foster youth & families in Alameda County. My professional insight is enriched from living cross-culturally and in many communal spaces, with nearly two decades of personal development and healing practices.

The foundation of my helping orientation is relational, client-centered, embodied awareness that considers the various “shaping sites” to one’s identity. This intersectional framework contextualizes a person’s values, behaviors, and symptoms within environmental, cultural, familial, intergenerational, epigenetic, and early developmental influences. If people function as internally and externally relational systems, then each “part” within any “system” affects the whole. When bodies or relationships feel out of balance, it is important to identify and address factors leading to dysregulation or disequilibirum. In my work, a strong emphasis is placed on self-awareness, adaptive communication, and neuroplasticity. Clients who find the most success with me are typically motivated to do deep inner work and maintain it through a curious, inquiring mind and body.