The stories we carry can reveal how we understand ourselves, what we value, what has shaped us, and what may still be difficult to put into words. I’m interested in the ways those stories also appear through the music, films, books, images, memories, and other forms of expression that stay with us. Sometimes what resonates with us can become a useful way into something we have not yet been able to name directly.

I’m currently a third-year student completing my Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy at California Institute of Integral Studies. My approach is integrative, grounded primarily in humanistic, existential, and narrative therapy, with a collaborative, curious, and creative style. I see therapy as a place to understand what is happening beneath the surface, make sense of patterns and experiences, and explore what feels important enough to protect, change, strengthen, or move toward.

Within an integrated expressive arts framework, I may draw from music, film and character reflection, art and image cards, books and literary reflection, and poetry-based language arts practices. These forms can give us additional ways to notice patterns, externalize experiences, explore different perspectives, or find language for something that has been difficult to articulate directly. A lyric, character, poem, image, book passage, metaphor, or piece of writing can sometimes make an internal experience clearer and give us something concrete to work with together.

In our work, I aim to be warm, direct, grounded, and genuinely collaborative. I value emotional safety, choice, and pacing, while also offering structure and thoughtful questions when they can help bring clarity to experiences that feel confusing, stuck, or difficult to organize. Therapy does not have to look the same for every person; I am interested in finding ways of working that fit how each client naturally thinks, communicates, creates meaning, and engages with the world.

My background includes behavioral health, creative and performance-based spaces, child-centered and relational work, and experience adapting across different environments and communities. These experiences have deepened my interest in how people make meaning of what they have lived through, recognize the patterns shaping their lives, and develop a clearer sense of voice, agency, and direction.