Transpersonal Therapists in Pacific Grove, CA

I warmly welcome you as you are, and hold a safe space to support your growth as your guide, witness, and companion. I enjoy working with clients who want more than traditional “talk” therapy. I offer experiential therapy, so you can go beyond cognitive understanding to having a transformative experience. I have an active style that is more than simply listening. I would describe the way I work as collaborative, curious, and challenging when it needs to be. I identify as a highly sensitive person (HSP) of gifted intelligence, both of which inform my work. My approach is mindfulness-based and somatic.

As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Certified Spiritual Director, I work with individuals, couples, and families. I have experience working with depression and anxiety, grief and loss, marriage conflicts, parent-child concerns, survivors of sexual and emotional abuse, gay/lesbian/bisexual issues and spirituality. My goal is to provide a safe space for you to explore those areas of your life that are causing you discomfort, pain, sadness, stress and anxiety, preventing you from embracing who you really want to be.

You may be looking for help to find an effective way to deal with emotional, mental, or behavioral conflicts that have arisen in your life. You may have even tried some techniques or therapies in the past and are looking for another approach. I can show you a mindfulness/meditation approach that has been shown in clinical research to be very effective. I have worked with many different populations, but more recently have specialized in working with Seniors, over the age of 50. However, I am happy to work with you at any age over 18 years.

Are you in a neurodiverse relationship and feeling overwhelmed? Are you struggling to find ways to communicate effectively with your partner and feel as though things are quickly slipping away? You're not alone - many couples find themselves in this exact situation. I understand the complexities of these relationships and can help develop strategies tailored specifically for you and your partner to create a more meaningful and positive connection. With my experience and expertise as a couples therapist and coach, I can help you find a way to bridge the divide between you two.

Do you want to have greater awareness, clarity, and authenticity? Do you desire positive changes in your life that fit with your deepest values and joy? I offer integrated approaches that help align the body, emotions, mind, and soul. Rather than pathologizing your symptoms, you have the potential to understand and presence what your suffering is needing by insight, mindfulness skills, and self-compassion. You can have a more profound acceptance of what is and be more of your authentic self.

We all face challenges in life, some greater than others. Many of us struggle with anxiety, depression, loss, relationship problems, and various types of trauma. Healing the past does not mean that we get to erase our experiences, but it does mean that our past no longer gets to control our present. I consider it a privilege to help facilitate a client's journey from dysfunctional beliefs and behaviors, to healthy ways of being in the world. I believe it is important that mind, body, and spirit are all functioning as healthily as possible in order to live ones best life.

My approach is to create an accepting, supportive, non-judgmental partnership in order to help my clients discover their strengths, inner resources, and to achieve a deeper understanding of who they are. This work will help you to overcome or more effectively deal with such problems as anxiety, depression, anger, stress, relationship difficulties, life transitions, and attention deficit disorder. We work together to identify self-defeating thought patterns or unconscious defenses that might be getting in the way of your natural capacity for satisfying relationships, or the full and authentic expression of who you are.

Having made major life and career changes myself(from CPA to MFT)gives me a unique ability to help clients who have emotional issues related to financial, career or life transition issues. I have also worked as a middle school counselor, which helps me in working with teens and families. My clinical areas of expertise include issues related to relationships and communication, career counseling, employment, education and money or life transition. I also work with depression, anxiety, stress management, grief and loss. I work with individuals, couples, families and adolescents.

I seek to offer a welcoming and safe space for you to explore your sense of self and the challenges you may be facing. Due to symptoms that hinder our ability to solve problems and thrive, we can become blocked from experiencing the full range of human emotion. Our sessions will increase your capacity to feel joy, playfulness and a sense of purpose in your life. My therapeutic style is collaborative, transparent and playful while using an integrative mind-body approach. I will encourage you to tap into the creativity and openness that allows you to gain new perspective and discover your own capacity to make meaningful change.

Seeking therapy can be frightening, especially so if current or past trauma is begging to be addressed. I believe that engaging in therapy is an act of love for oneself. I am awed daily by the resilience of the human spirit, and that I have the privilege to bear witness to my clients’ stories as a partner in their healing journeys. I have a background in community mental health clinics, hospice, and school-settings serving individuals affected by intergenerational, relational and sexual trauma, domestic violence, abuse, neglect, substance abuse, and involvement in the child welfare and foster care systems.

I look forward to connecting with you in a safe and healthy way. I believe you have everything within you to heal and will assist in exploring how trauma shaped your world through attachment or otherwise. We are all wired for connection; together we will mindfully investigate how you join your world presently in order to choose who and how you want to be. I welcome reprocessing any trauma that continues to prevent you from fully living. I enjoy working with individuals (children, tweens, teens and adults), couples and families as needed in support of individuals or couples.

Are you wanting to embark on a journey of self discovery and healing to move towards living your best life? I specialize in working with anxiety, depression, co-dependency, trauma (direct, vicarious, and intergenerational). I am certified in Clinical Supervision and have been providing clinical supervision since 2017. I also specialize in therapy for therapists to process vicarious trauma, transference, and provide consultation. Drawing from depth psychology and an integrative, holistic approach; I help clients in developing deep understanding of their psyche and heal wounds that block them from living their most authentic life.

Even happily anticipated life events can challenge your coping skills, resulting in feelings of overwhelm or confusion. An objective ear and a kind heart may be the support you need to help you regain your footing. I work with both men and women who have endured a difficult pregnancy or childbirth, or whose past may be affecting how they are experiencing pregnancy or parenting. Other areas of focus: Children experiencing grief and loss; Adolescents exploring gender, sexuality, autonomy, and next steps after high school; Helping professionals struggling with self-care; Graduate students balancing academic and personal life.

My psychotherapy focuses on revitalization, moving forward, and cultivating deepening perspectives. An inner personality force--some call it soul--beckons us ever forward and ever deeper. Our work together helps you discover this innate healing force, allowing for a transformative reset that replenishes your vitality and awakens "positive" emotions like reverence, awe, and compassion. Misfortune can, with hard work, become a potent deepening agent that increases self-awareness, amplifies meaning in life, potentiates spiritual pathways, and elevates your capacity for presence and intimacy.