Racial Identity Therapists in Albany, CA

My work with every client and family is personalized, trauma-informed, rooted in strengths, collaborative, neurodiversity-affirming, and culturally tailored to your needs and experiences. I believe that each client possesses the intergenerational heirlooms of innate resilience, spirituality, and introspection that serve as tools to assist in your healing journey. You are the expert of your experience and I am here to offer hope and support you as you share your narrative and author a new chapter of healing, continuing to grow into your best self, discovering balance, serenity, joy, and connecting with yourself and surroundings.

People come to therapy because they want something in their lives to be different. We hear that we can only change ourselves, yet even if we "know" the why or how or who of it, we can't always budge "it" on our own. My job is to help navigate the terrain, to make sense of the landscape, and to be with you as you reencounter your obstacles to living and loving your life.

Are you living with the pain of childhood trauma? Do you have a hard time setting boundaries or feeling safe because your trust was violated in the past? Is negative thinking keeping you from feeling confident in yourself and your choices? Even if you’re struggling right now, you do possess inner wisdom that can guide you toward clarity and healing. As your therapist, I will help you reconnect with your body so you can explore your emotions and strengths in a transformative, meaningful way. Collaborating together, we can enhance a sense of empowerment in your life.

My intention is to help you live a more meaningful, easeful, and joyful life. My Areas of Focus are Depression, Low Self-Esteem, Anxiety, Stress, & Burnout, Trauma, and Identity & Spiritual Exploration. I work with BIPOC/ People of the Global Majority, Children of Immigrants, Queer Folk, Neurodivergent folk, and Adult Children of Alcoholics.

When we are anxious, unsettled, or stuck, and unsure what our next steps should be or whether it is even possible to feel better about our self, our life path, or our relationships, we can feel very alone. You may have tried therapy before, or self-help strategies, and perhaps found some short-term relief, but are wondering if longer-term solutions and genuine life satisfaction are real possibilities for you. You may be finding difficulty holding on to a sense of hope that your life can change for the better, yet there is some glimmer of desire that has led you here, to search for help. There is a part of you that wants to heal.

Welcome! Note: email is the best way reach me. Finding a therapist is daunting. The relationship tends to be the most consistent factor in whether therapy is successful, so I encourage you to trust your intuition. I work with adults (not couples) and adolescents over 14 on a variety of issues, including achieving greater mood stability, identity issues, improved relationships and sexuality, and recovery from trauma. I have experience working effectively with people who identify as trans, genderqueer, and those with diverse lifestyles. I also offer ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in collaboration w/Journey Clinical.

Overcoming issues can sometimes involve using strategies to change our thinking and behavior. We all have developed habits of thinking and behavior that are not serving our needs. Therapy can help by identifying these patterns, introducing strategies to reduce them, and increasing more helpful patterns.

Life is messy. As we all navigate it the best we can, a lot of us find survival strategies that make sense at the time but don’t serve us in the long run. If you or your child are having trouble in relationships, feeling consistently down or anxious, or finding yourself stuck in painful past experiences, therapy can help identify patterns that don’t serve you and build practices that enable you to thrive. ​

You may be feeling temporarily overwhelmed by the situation, in your relationship, at work, in the culture you live in or you may have felt emotionally distressed over a long period of time. In both cases, therapy can be the first step to bring relief, self actualization and happiness to you and your loved ones.

Our thoughts and emotions are telling us something. At times the message is clear. At others the message feels garbled, or we are not ready to receive it. I would like to help. Often my clients seek support around confusing emotions and thoughts that accompany life transitions, and relationships. We build insight through understanding these thoughts and feelings. Themes might include: overwhelm, burnout, relational trauma, family dynamics, identity, self-esteem, vulnerability, boundaries, and interpersonal communication. All of this will be in service of helping your emotions to inform your journey, rather than stifle it.

I strongly believe in people's resiliency and motivation to live a full life despite difficult experiences. I'm dedicated to helping my clients achieve desirable and lasting change. We will look closely at what holds you back and what feels painful in your life. Whether it is a cycle of difficult emotions, unwanted behaviors, or relational difficulties, I believe it is crucial to discover the meaning in these experiences. Through our work together we will develop new tools to transform your life and make it more satisfying.

Summer used to be (and sometimes still is) a chance to rest and enjoy, but this does not diminish stress related to residual academic pressure, parenting challenges, or feeling disconnected from relationships. I often work with people who notice themselves feeling overwhelmed, numb, or burned out due to life stressors. I have special training and experience working with new parents, students of all ages (college and graduate school included) and people with disabilities. In all stages of life, I hope to offer a supportive space for you to process your experiences and determine next steps.

I believe that we are shaped, known, and grow in relationships. Therapy can help you better understand your thoughts, feelings, and experiences—and find freedom and meaningful connection with yourself and others. With curiosity and openness, I work to create a supportive and collaborative environment. Together, we can explore who you are and the experiences that shape you. We can address your present concerns, and explore how your early experiences impact you.

I am a psychotherapist in private practice in the East Bay since 1996. I offer a non-judgmental therapeutic relationship where individuals, couples or families can find self acceptance, safety, access insight and intuition, and cultivate an attitude of kindness toward the self and others. Recovery from trauma, working on communication and relationships, overcoming addiction, spiritual self-development and healing, and coping with depression/stress from major life transitions are common themes. I have taught and supervised therapists in training at various local agencies. I also have a background in holistic and shamanic healing.

I am a bicultural/bilingual, latinx psychologist with extensive experience working with youth of all ages who are struggling with mood, anxiety, and impulse control, and families who have experienced trauma. Key to this work is the relationship we build together. My goal is to help your family better understand what is happening for your child based on what research has taught us about how our brains work, while honoring your child’s unique experience and normalizing that we all have struggles. I use a strengths-based collaborative approach to get to know your family and identify and practice skills to help your child cope.

As an integrative licensed clinical psychologist, I am open, receptive, and adaptive. My goal is to help you cultivate resilience and the human capability for recovery.

Do you feel stuck or misunderstood and often have strong reactions towards others and can't seem to figure out if it's you or others? Often times our cultural identity and values intertwine into our current relationships creating tensions, stress and challenges. Our differences in communication styles, thinking patterns and ways of expressing our feelings maybe the reasons we are experiencing stress in our lives and our relationships. Psychotherapy can provide the opportunity for us to explore the distress and difficulties in your relationships in a safe space and deepen your self reflection of unconscious behaviors and patterns.

I help couples and individuals find freedom from their most challenging patterns. I work with people experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, and relationship issues, and specialize in helping couples navigate the impacts of developmental trauma. I work from an interpersonal, attachment-based, and Family Systems lens, and incorporate trauma-informed modalities of somatic awareness, mindfulness, and IFS/parts work.

I offer professional psychotherapy via video and in-person or a flexible combination of the two modalities for adults of all ethnicities, gender identities and sexual orientations who may be experiencing a spectrum of emotional challenges, including anxiety, depression, stress, grief, work/life balance and healthy boundaries.