Psychodynamic Therapists in Santa Cruz, CA

Seeking support is a brave step and I am glad you are here! It's my goal to help my clients feel safe and at ease even as they step into vulnerable territory. Therapy provides an opportunity for our needs and feelings to rise to the surface and be met with compassion and care. I enjoy supporting children and teens, parents seeking to invest in their personal wellbeing, and individuals looking to heal from trauma or adversity. I bring my training and experience to the table, but my clients are the experts in their own reality. It is my role to listen deeply, join with you in curiosity, and help guide you towards your goals.

I am inspired by transformation, by the possibilities, freedom, and implications of deep personal change. I’ve seen it in myself and my clients. Moving from stagnation to aliveness, from isolation to love. I’m honored to work with you on your path of healing, self-discovery, growth, and transformation.

Do your sensitivities to the world and relationships sometimes feel like more of a burden than a blessing? Do you want to get into better relationship with yourself and your body? Maybe you are experiencing a difficult life transition or wrestling with pain, fear, or despair at the state of your life or the world. Perhaps you want to explore parts of yourself that have previously been held silent by anxieties or conditioning. If so, I would be a great fit for you!

Are you experiencing a "dark night of the soul" and feeling hopeless? Do you need to change a relationship, behavior or thought pattern? Pause. Change can happen in a single moment of insight. You have taken the first step toward self-empowerment and transformation. When we deepen our awareness within a positive, supportive and safe environment, we can find tools to navigate life’s obstacles. Let's have a conversation! Sessions focus are a collaboration toward growth and transformation. I provide holistic and integrative counseling for the body, mind and spirit, with 35 years of experience in the healing arts professions.

I celebrate clients of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as gender identities and sexual orientations, and am kink and nonmonogamy positive. I work within a liberatory, decolonial lens which takes into account not only how our early relational experiences shape us, but how the cultural and economic environments we inhabit influence us as well. If you are coming to therapy as a couple or family I will support you in paying attention to the nonverbal behaviors that may be contributing to painful dynamics of disconnection.

Without mincing words, I'm a very good therapist and I love my job. With 26 years experience at 3 youth and adult clinics, including 10 years now in private practice, I've met with such a variety of people in about 34,224 sessions over this time! Educated at Harvard, Penn and CA State Chico, I have remarkable ability to see through a person's upset to your wonderful spirit and strengths. I'm a great detective at identifying the core issues. I'm romantic at heart, so I love getting people through difficult periods to come out shining! I congratulate you for your courage in seeking help. Call Me!