Attachment-based Therapists in San Jose, CA

My therapeutic approach mainly focuses on helping my clients identify their strengths to help alleviate anxiety, depression, and trauma. I am a firm believer that our childhood experiences contribute to our beliefs, behavioral patterns, and selecting a romantic partner. Therapy is a process! To allow ourselves to be intimate and vulnerable with someone about our experiences and trauma can be daunting. As a therapist, it is my goal to help validate, create a safe environment and help understand aspects of lived experiences.

I work with clients who struggle with: unresolved emotional injury, trauma, self-worth, relational problems, mood/emotional problems, addictions, compulsive behaviors, and spiritual issues. I also work with members of the clergy (pastors, missionaries, ministry leaders) who struggle with deep personal issues but lack a safe, nurturing space in which they may experience support and healing. My clients all seek and deserve healing in their lives and relationships.

I have experience working in Community-Based, Outpatient and Justice-Involved Mental Health Settings. I have a passion for working with young and older adults in order to assist them in developing and utilizing the necessary coping skills to manage and thrive during difficult times and life transitions, and through needed change.

I believe therapy can provide a safe space for creating a more fulfilled life. There are times where we may experience traumas, feel stuck and emotionally disconnected, and have difficulty coping. My approach to therapy includes a humanistic centered style, where we establish a collaborative and trusting relationship to allow for vulnerability and personal growth to occur. I am committed to providing compassionate and empathetic care to support you in your journey towards self-discovery, where we can explore and identify your strengths, build confidence, and self- esteem. 

Has trauma, anxiety, or depression interfered with the potential to become the best version of yourself? We often feel defined by traumatic or emotionally difficult experiences then often leave us feeling stuck in place rather than moving forward towards our goals. I’m here to provide a safe, affirming space for you to develop an understanding of yourself to overcome past experiences or fears that define you. Our work together will be met with unconditional acceptance, creative approaches, and the utmost compassion.

You may be experiencing feelings of brokenness and suffering from devastating loss. You may have stories that need to be explored in search of healing and restoration. You may be ready to address these challenges with knowledgeable care, holistic engagement, and compassionate understanding. Finding the courage to share your stories of harm and pain is the beginning of your healing and inner peace. If you are seeking guidance as you navigate through your healing journey, it may be time to take the next step and reach out for help.

By considering a therapist, you are taking a step towards improving your life, examining what needs to be changed and building upon what is already working. Life can get better and you have the power to change it. During difficult times, it is important to either develop healthy support systems or utilize the ones that we already have. Seeking therapy is one piece of a healthy support system. You are acknowledging that some aspects of your life may not be going well and need to be changed. Therapy can help you to put life in perspective.

My practice provides neurodiversity-affirmative and collaborative psychological testing services for individuals of all ages. I believe that individuals deserve the opportunity to feel heard, respected, and safe. Common reasons people come to me for testing are for clarity about autism, anxiety, depression, or ADHD. An evaluation helps folks to understand themselves better. I also provide individual and family therapy for children, teens, and young adults. I particularly specialize in working with early childhood (<6 years old), attachment, social skills, stress management, grief and loss, chronic worries or sadness, and parenting.

Thank you for viewing my page. I've been a therapist and clinical supervisor for over a decade; I know how to help, and I have the experience. I work with engineers, tech, and business professionals to help them express and process hard emotions in a supportive, non-intimidating way. I'm married to an engineer, and I know the pressures. I specialize in working with successful, high achieving women and men struggling with depression, anxiety, and relationship or work concerns. If you're a therapist yourself and struggling with compassion fatigue, burn out and stress, I speak your language, and I've been there.

I draw on multiple theoretical orientations and techniques to allow for a flexible, multifaceted approach to therapy to address each individual client's needs. I specialize in anxiety, depression, relationship issues, anger management, parenting conflict, codependency, perfectionism, and issues related to poor self-esteem rooted in simple and complex trauma. I support those I work with change persistent and negative beliefs, set appropriate boundaries, heal their self-worth, and reclaim a sense of balance and wellness in order to live with increased life satisfaction.

Are anxiety and stress keeping you from living your life to your fullest potential? Are you feeling stress weighing on you internally or causing you to feel exhausted and hopeless? Together we will explore ways to grow, further develop self-acceptance and unearth traumatic experiences and daily stressors that are hindering you from achieving this potential. I will be available to provide an unbiased listening ear and warm spirit as you reimagine the life you want for yourself. In this safe and accepting environment, we will develop an action plan to better manage your unique symptoms and your life.

As a therapist, I look for the basic goodness of human beings and try to bring clients having locus of control in their lives and share perspectives leading clients to feel liberated so they find the meaning of life; fulfillment and happiness. This takes practice, as our minds naturally scan for the negative, but if we try, we can almost always find something good about you and others which will lead us to heal and peace and may bring harmony and joy to our life. Personally, I enjoy reading books regarding history and philosophy. I have a strong passion for helping children and adults, including parenting issues.

I have personally suffered with mental health challenges through different stages in my life. I know what it’s like to talk to friends/family but not gain any movement towards a happier life. It wasn’t until I connected with a therapist and admitted to myself that I was sick and tired of feeling symptoms of anxiety, depression, and setting healthy boundaries that I was able to make progress toward a happier life.

**I am currently accepting video clients** Good therapy is a process of opening up to our unique emotions and desires, and learning how to talk about and act on them successfully. This work is often portrayed as difficult, but at its best it is enlivening, even enjoyable. My work is devoted to helping people achieve this. I specialize in supporting those struggling with depression, anxiety, anger, trauma, and grief, who are motivated to grow.

I am honored to work with you/your loved ones and provide support wherever you find yourself in life. I will be right by your side as a fellow human being. If you are looking to build your toolbox and develop your sense of empowerment to navigate this world, then we can work on that together. We will work together to build a therapeutic relationship. Relationships are where healing can happen. Together, we can carry your traumas, fears, and anxieties in holistic and traditional approaches. If you’d like to take a step, contact me today for a consultation.

I have enjoyed working with clients from very diverse cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds and sexual orientations and identities for over 20 years. I prize establishing respectful, trusting, and collaborative relationships with my clients as this is key in helping them achieve their goals in treatment. It is my goal for clients to leave therapy with new skills, new understanding, a sense of empowerment, or having worked through some difficult experiences. My past training and clinical work have provided me expertise in the areas of depression, cultural issues, assertiveness, relationships, anxiety, and trauma.

You are concerned about your child. You can see them struggling at school, with their friends, and with family. Your child has difficulty managing their emotions, becoming easily upset, having difficulty focusing, or acting out impulsively. Your child may be reacting to a difficult or stressful life event, which you have likely been impacted by too. You want your child, your family, and yourself to be happy and successful.

Do you want to feel better? Are you tired of recurrent patterns that you find distressing? Early life events lay a foundation from which we may operate both consciously and unconsciously. Together, we can explore the narrative of your life and create deeper insight as to how your experiences manifest in ways that are intrusive, unwanted, confusing, alienating, or helpful. Therapy is a space for you to explore your life without the fear of judgment, shame, or reservation.

Congratulations on taking the courageous step to begin therapy. As we all know, life can be challenging and demanding at times. This may lead us to feeling sad, angry, hopeless or confused. We may feel stuck and not know how to move forward; which can be a very lonely and scary place to be as well. However, you are not alone and healing is possible! My role as a therapist is to provide a safe place and offer warmth and empathy throughout this collaborative process, in order to help you in exploring your thoughts and feelings, as well as guide you in developing insight and identifying skills to achieve the thriving life you deserve.

Life is a journey where there are moments of excitement, love, joy and celebration and times when you feel stuck, lost, and isolated along the way. You might be on a path that feels uncomfortable, even painful at times and don’t know where to turn. You are not alone. I believe that we all can achieve a deeper understanding of ourselves within a safe relationship.