Meet the Team

I know this can be a strange process — trying to figure out whether you can actually trust a complete stranger enough to open up about the parts of your relationship or life that don’t feel okay. The relationships I feel safest in are honest ones. The kind where people don’t have to perform, filter themselves, walk on eggshells, or worry they’re “too much.” That’s the kind of space I try to create in therapy too: direct, human, engaged, and non-judgmental. I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Master’s degree in Psychology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. I specialize in couples therapy, attachment-focused therapy, and relationship work for couples and individuals. A lot of the couples I work with feel stuck in painful cycles that keep repeating no matter how much they love each other. They’re exhausted from miscommunication, defensiveness, emotional distance, resentment, shutdowns, loneliness, or feeling more like roommates than partners. Many are high-functioning on the outside while privately feeling disconnected, reactive, overwhelmed, or unsure how to get back to each other. I’m especially passionate about helping distressed couples rebuild emotional safety, connection, trust, intimacy, and friendship in a way that actually feels genuine and sustainable — not forced or scripted. Therapy with me is active and collaborative. We’ll probably laugh sometimes while doing hard work. I don’t believe meaningful therapy has to feel cold or clinical to be effective. My work is also deeply informed by trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, and attachment-based approaches because our past experiences often shape how we communicate, protect ourselves, connect, and respond in relationships today. Beyond my own work, I also lead a team of incredible therapists at New Beginnings who provide EMDR therapy for adults and children, Child EMDR, family therapy, grief work, somatic therapy, support for anxiety and depression, pregnancy and postpartum concerns, life transitions, and therapy for first responders and trauma survivors.

Sometimes life feels so emotionally overwhelming that it becomes hard to even slow down enough to understand what you’re feeling anymore. Many people come into therapy exhausted, anxious, grieving, disconnected from themselves, or carrying emotional burdens they’ve been trying to quietly manage for a very long time. I try to create a calm, grounded, emotionally safe space where people can finally exhale a little and begin working through difficult experiences without feeling rushed, judged, or overwhelmed in the process. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 15 years of experience helping children, teens, adults, and families navigate trauma, anxiety, grief, emotional overwhelm, relationship struggles, and major life stressors with greater steadiness and self-understanding. I uniquely specialize in EMDR therapy for both adults and children, including Child EMDR for grief, trauma, emotional overwhelm, difficult life experiences, and chronic stress. I’m especially passionate about helping children process emotional burdens in ways that feel developmentally supportive, safe, and effective.

Sometimes people come to therapy carrying grief, overwhelm, anxiety, or emotional pain they haven’t fully been able to put words to yet. Other times, life simply feels heavier than it used to, and it becomes exhausting trying to keep holding everything together alone. I try to create a space that feels calm, genuine, emotionally safe, and easy to settle into — especially for people who feel overwhelmed by emotions, pressure, major life transitions, or difficult experiences they haven’t fully processed. I work with children, teens, adults, and families navigating trauma, anxiety, grief, emotional overwhelm, identity shifts, loss, and periods of major transition or change. My approach is warm, relational, and trauma-informed. I help clients better understand themselves, process difficult experiences, and feel more emotionally connected and grounded rather than simply trying to “push through” what they’re carrying alone. My work includes child therapy, family therapy, trauma-informed therapy, grief support, emotional regulation work, and support through periods of major transition and change throughout Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo County.

If the idea of therapy feels intimidating, overly clinical, or emotionally exhausting, you are probably not alone. Many of the people I work with want therapy to feel genuine, relaxed, collaborative, and human — not like they’re being analyzed or expected to have everything figured out before showing up. I’m grounded, warm, and deeply down-to-earth, and I try to create a space where people can feel comfortable being fully themselves without fear of judgment or pressure to “perform” in therapy. A lot of the people I work with are emotionally overwhelmed, anxious, burned out, struggling in relationships, adjusting to major life changes, or feeling stuck in patterns that no longer feel sustainable. I also have experience supporting postpartum mothers and couples navigating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, adjustment to parenthood, emotional overwhelm, and relationship stress during pregnancy and early parenting transitions. Before becoming a therapist, I worked as a behavior specialist for children on the autism spectrum, which gave me additional experience supporting emotional regulation, behavioral challenges, and family stress. My approach is relational, collaborative, and focused on helping people better understand themselves, regulate emotions, strengthen relationships, and create meaningful change without feeling judged or overwhelmed in the process.