Sometimes we need extra help when facing particularly painful, overwhelming, or puzzling situations. By setting aside a dedicated time and place in which to bring your full attention (and mine) to the task of sorting out what pains or blocks you, you give yourself the best opportunity to craft the life you wish to live. In the company of a skilled practitioner, the process of therapy can help you work through old patterns and address the challenges at hand. You can experience a greater sense of meaning, purpose, and peace in your life and in your relationships.

We are a non-profit counseling agency with locations in Santa Cruz, Watsonville, & Monterey. We provide high quality, affordable psychotherapy and counseling services to individuals, couples, families, and groups. Our fees are set on a sliding scale, based upon your income. Our services are provided by Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists and Master's level Interns and Trainees who are under the supervision of a licensed therapist. We would love to answer any questions you may have, or schedule an appointment to meet with you. Simply call or send us an email today!

I want you to have a better life. Maybe you're lonely or sad. Maybe you're struggling in your relationships. Together, we'll get to the root of your pain. We'll uncover the patterns and wounds that get in the way of having the life you want. My caring presence provides a place where you can revitalize your life and fill it with new meaning.

Could you use some support? Feeling stuck? Confused? I love this work and it is an honor to work in this way. I specialize in working with women who are experiencing transitions in their lives, grief, anxiety, codependency, and alcoholic family systems. I have degrees from CIIS and UCLA. Together, clients and I work to find relief, understanding, and emotional wellbeing.

My commitment to all my clients is to provide empathy, compassion, and curiosity in order to support authentic expression of feelings and needs. The path towards authentic expression is unique to the individual depending on their background, their experience with therapy and their specific therapeutic goals and so I offer various therapeutic interventions to support authentic self expression and healing. I value both the exploration of one's past as well as here and now functioning through mindfulness practice. Using a holistic approach and focusing on the client's strengths and insights, the journey towards wholeness begins.

Since 1992, I have counseled families, adults and children. I am an EMDR Institute consultant and facilitator, and use EMDR therapy's adaptive information processing to help clients master the challenges encountered in their lives. I received my PhD in international psychology with trauma focus. My specialties include Trauma, Acculturation and Attachment Disorders in clients of all ages. My immigration experience from Germany has prompted the exploration of the crucial part played by our cultural roots in our decision making process and in our lifestyle choices. I speak English, Spanish and German.

Life and relationships can be difficult to navigate. I have found it is always easier to know someone is rooting for you to win, to know you have a coach in your corner, a confidant at your side. I see my role as a Marriage and Family Therapist in the same way; a source for receiving encouragement, guidance, and growth. We are all in different stages of the growing process and sometimes it becomes difficult to face it alone. Witnessing client after client prevail with hope, growth, and healing through talk therapy, both personally and in their relationships, reinforces my belief in the practice.

*Not accepting new patients until 2021. Do you have trauma, anxiety or depression and feel ready to work on yourself? Perhaps you are new to therapy but feel motivated or inspired to heal and work through emotions, conflicts or blockages to living a more fulfilling life. Have you had other therapies but feel “it’s time” to go deeper and explore root causes of patterns and issues? Do you feel you are in an “awakening“ and hope to work with a Transpersonal Therapist to support the integration of your higher or Whole/Core Self?

Sometimes in an effort to manage painful experiences in life, we end up getting stuck in roles and patterns that do not serve us. Sometimes we don't know where to start, but we know we want something else. I will listen with curiosity and compassion and offer support in your journey to understand what serves you now. I can help with anxiety, depression, history of abuse, lack of motivation and self-destructive habits among other issues. I have a strong interest in healing the effects of trauma so clients can increase their sense of empowerment in the world.

We are all living through scary and intense times. Are you struggling with adjusting to life in-doors? Do you have children that are out of school, and you're not as calm and patient as your were before? Are your children overwhelmed and anxious/sad about missing their friends? Maybe you are worried about your community or the state of the world. Maybe you have always felt a little uneasy, but now it's unbearable. Let's get you the help you need.

Suffering comes in many forms. It is personal and intimate and often times overwhelming and sometimes debilitating. But you don’t have to face it alone. Many people have sought my help for feelings of anxiety, stress, overwhelm, and an out of balance work-life; others, for unresolved trauma , PTSD, and other stress-related disorders which keep people trapped in disregulated states of being; still others because they were unhappy with their life and the spark of their passion was dim.

Life is to enjoy and a little help can make the difference you never imagined possible. When we reach the tipping point in our lives it's hard to trust that talking to someone might help. But it can. I have more than twenty years experience helping individuals, couples, teens and families improve. Using principles and techniques of Energy Psychology, EMDR, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) and my own multidimensional approach which takes into account mind, body and spirit, we can create the change you need.

When your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is perpetually alerted to be in a survival state (due to various life stressors) you might notice symptoms such as chronic fatigue, adrenal deficiency, perpetual irritability, trouble with sleeping, digestive issues, various mental health challenges and the list goes on. Holistic approaches to wellness that incorporate body-brain based therapy models get at the root of these issues and begin turning down the dial on your ANS so that you can live a longer, healthier life.

I am not accepting new individuals at this time. I am accepting couples for therapy. A relationship is the most difficult act to maintain. I am comfortable with alternative types of relationships, as well as all people on the gender spectrum. We would be able to learn how to communicate in a way that brings you together and develops connection. I create a safe place for you to explore what you are feeling and experiencing.

Welcome! My approach to therapy is an eclectic and collaborative approach that will meet your individual needs. I enjoy working with adults, children, couples, and families. I will value your perspective and work collaboratively with you while providing support and guidance in achieving your goals. Together we can create a therapeutic relationship that offers self-awareness, acceptance, insight, resources, and the integration of past and present experiences. Such integration can provide you with a sense of mastery and confidence that will help you regulate your emotional and cognitive responses in your everyday life.

I specialize in treating clients of all genders with attachment trauma, codependency and addiction, and mood disorders. I also have extensive experience supporting adolescents as they transition into adulthood. Initially, clients may or may not yet have language for what is going on. It may be more like a constellation of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that seem increasingly unsustainable. Isolation and shame often. Whether or not we arrive at a diagnosis, finding the words and reckoning honestly and compassionately with the pain is a large part of the healing work.

I am offering Telehealth services due to COVID-19. I became a therapist to help others live a fuller, happier life. My years as Marriage and Family Therapist, help me provide you with the skills you need to ease your emotional pain, build better relationships and change your life for the better. I am spiritual and my practice is based on empathy, deep understanding and compassion. I can also provide you with the coping skills to live a better happier life.

In my work with individuals, couples, children, teens and families I strive to create a warm, nurturing and compassionate environment for personal exploration and healing. In this space all parts of you are welcome. I see therapy as a collaboration where you and I partner to create an achievable plan to improve your relationships, increase your sense of vitality, and work towards your personal goals. In my work, I have witnessed how life's challenges can create emotional scars that then consciously or unconscious run our lives. These scars can manifest as a variety of mental health and relational issues.

I would like to celebrate you on your path! You may be considering therapy for various reason. Whether obvious or obscure you most likely have a clear sense of wanting to feel better. You may even be hopeful about experiencing more joy in your life. To assist you in your process; I will do my best to support your comfort in disclosure, faith in the discovery process and acknowledgment of new insight and perspectives. I will also help build your experiential awareness and vocabulary. Together psychotherapy can foster in you a more positive outlook, fulfilling relationships and an embodied sense of vitality in your life!

I specialize in couples therapy and supporting women. In my work with women I help create space where you can freely give yourself permission to be where you are and offer love and kindness to yourself. I will support you to step into a place of deeper authenticity and strength. Old patterns of thinking or ways of viewing the world may no longer be serving you but you can choose to hold space for what serves and say no thank you to what does not. In my couples work I am trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.