Approaches
I offer services online and in person. My approach is conversational, person-centered, and integrative, drawing from several evidence based methods rather than one framework. Over the years, I've learned that no two people are the same, nor do they experience life in the same way, so therapy cannot be one size fits all. Together, we co-create an approach centered on your unique experiences, background, culture and needs. One that is cohesive, flexible and grows with you.
Explore the therapy approaches I offer below.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
It’s one of the most widely used evidence based therapies globally, and one of the most practical tools in my work. It is based on a simple yet transformative theory: our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and body are deeply interconnected.
When we identify and shift unhelpful thoughts:
We become more open and curious about different perspectives
We create meaningful emotional and behavioral changes
We build resilience and reduce avoidance
CBT is effective for anxiety, phobias, insomnia, stress management, and self confidence using guided imagery, behavioral practice, journaling, and exposure techniques.
-
If you're stuck in a cycle like "I'm not good enough," we explore where that thought came from and work together to challenge it with more empowering, grounded perspectives that support your confidence and daily functioning.
Attachment-Based Therapy
The attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby, explores how our earliest relationships with caregivers shape our internal world: how we see ourselves, others, and the world. From these early experiences, we form core beliefs that continue to impact us throughout our lives.
In therapy, we explore how these old relational templates still influence you today, often quietly shaping your choices. We pay close attention to patterns in how you:
Connect and communicate
Seek closeness or create distance through avoidance
Handle conflict and emotional intimacy
Show up in romantic relationships
Play specific roles in certain relationships
These unconscious patterns were learned early, but they can be observed, gently understood, and transformed with compassion. Therapy becomes a space where you build internal security and develop healthier, more grounding relational habits.
The Mind-Body Connection & Mindfulness
Mindfulness is our universal human capacity to slow down, observe, and connect with the present moment. In many cultures, it is naturally woven into daily life through rituals, breathwork, and community practices. We are wired for awareness, yet modern life often disconnects us from it. In therapy, mindfulness becomes a tool to help you pause, reconnect with your body, and create space between yourself and overwhelming thoughts or emotions.
Emotions live in the body just as much as the mind, yet many of us were never taught to understand or soothe our bodily sensations. When emotional stress shows up physically through fatigue, tightness, migraines, or sleep troubles, I incorporate body awareness, interoception, breathwork, grounding, and nervous system regulation to help you reconnect with your body safely and compassionately.
This approach is effective for:
Anxiety and emotional reactivity
Psychosomatic symptoms
Grief
Trauma symptoms and self-criticism
Stress-related physical symptoms
Building resilience and emotional regulation
It is vital to recognize that physical health foundations matter deeply. Vitamins, hormones, sleep, and nutrition all influence how we experience stress and emotion. When these basics are out of balance, therapy alone is incomplete. That's why mindfulness, interoception, and body work are most effective when paired with attention to these foundational factors, supporting your whole self.
Trauma Informed Stabilization Therapy (TIST - Level 1 & 2)
Trauma is a small word for a profoundly personal, complex, and nuanced experience. Several people can go through the same event and feel entirely different impacts, and all of those are valid. Trauma literally reshapes how our brain functions and how the nervous system responds to everyday situations, whether that means freezing when caught off guard, shutting down, or becoming overwhelmed.
A trauma-informed approach prioritizes safety and transparency, your pace and readiness, empowerment and choice, and acknowledgment that your mind and body have worked hard to protect you. Our sessions honor your timeline, boundaries, and what feels manageable.
Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), developed by trauma expert Dr. Janina Fisher, builds on this. Rooted in neuroscience and Internal Family Systems (IFS) parts work, TIST views trauma responses not as flaws, but as natural survival strategies. When something overwhelming happens, the mind protects us by disconnecting from certain parts of ourselves: emotions, memories, sensations, or impulses that feel "too much." This division is the body's attempt to keep us alive.
In TIST, we approach these parts of ourselves with curiosity and compassion:
Understand what each part is protecting
Approach them with curiosity and compassion
Integrate them into a unified, coherent whole
Strengthen your internal leadership
My Levels 1 & 2 training equips me to support you in stabilizing trauma symptoms, because regulation and safety must come first. Through this process, your internal system becomes more stable, grounded, and resilient - increasing your capacity to stay present and connected, even during moments of stress.
TIST is deeply empowering because it teaches you that every part of you has value, purpose, and insight. This work is about reclaiming your sense of self, reconnecting with your strength, and rediscovering the parts of you that survived.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
As a person of color who grew up across different cultures, I deeply understand how cultural identity shapes our emotional world. Our heritage, values, and lived experiences influence how we communicate, form relationships, cope with stress, and express emotions. It matters to work with a therapist who gets that, someone you don't have to justify or feel uncomfortable around when speaking about your cultural context.
Culturally sensitive therapy honors the full complexity of who you are by acknowledging:
Systemic factors and intergenerational experiences
Cultural rituals, migration stories, and expectations
How these shape your wellbeing in ways often overlooked or misunderstood
In this space, all parts of your identity are welcome. Whether you're navigating cultural expectations, generational pressure, identity conflict, or the feeling of being "in between" worlds, we explore it together with understanding and respect. Your experiences are not minimized. They are seen, held, and validated.
Schema Therapy &
Internal Family Systems
I integrate Schema Therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS), along with other trauma tools, to help you understand the deeper emotional patterns that shape how you think, feel, and respond, often patterns formed early in life.
Schema Therapy is based on the idea that we develop schemas: core emotional templates from early experiences that guide how we relate to ourselves, others, and the world. Some schemas are healthy, while others may lead to:
Mistrust and abandonment fears
Perfectionism and self-criticism
Difficulty setting boundaries
Long-standing relational struggles
Internal Family Systems explores the multiple "parts" within all of us- inner voices, emotions, or protective patterns that developed for survival. For instance, a "protector" part may shut down emotions for safety, while a "critic" part may push for perfection to prevent failure. These parts aren't bad; they're trying to help, even when their methods no longer serve you.
These trauma-focused approaches work together to ensure healing becomes less about "fixing" yourself and more about rediscovering coherence, understanding oneself deeply, reducing internal burdens, empowerment, and internal harmony.