While there exists a variety of therapeutic modalities, mainstream psychology is heavily shaped by a Eurocentric model where concepts of ‘normality’ and ‘abnormality’ are proliferated in universal ways that pose the highest risk for marginalized groups seeking mental health care. Therefore, it is with intention that I do not operate from a pathologizing stance, meaning I do not view counseling as a tool to dig for deficiencies with the aim of assimilation but rather to re-member your stories with richness so that it can light new paths to healing. I encourage you to consider if this therapeutic approach vibes with you at this time. Feel free to let me know what fits or doesn’t fit.
Informed by Narrative Therapy, Relational Cultural Theory, and Liberation Psychology, my therapeutic approach orbits the ethics of curiosity, presence, and playfulness, alongside justice, dignity, and a loving collaboration of our shared humanity. As we co-create expansive and imaginative spaces through continual conversations, my hope is that you may deconstruct what no longer serves you and build on movements toward liberation in meaningful ways. I believe counseling can be generative when we allow ourselves this freedom to slow down and take detours we otherwise might not permit ourselves to travel. As such, you might experience me as a gentle stream guiding us through uncharted territories within your stories, so that you can begin to trust in the wisdom held already inside you, your ancestors, and your communities.
“Do you remember the happiest day of your life? What about the saddest? Do you ever wonder if sadness and happiness can be combined, to make a deep purple feeling, not good, not bad, but remarkable simply because you didn’t have to live on one side or the other?”
Ocean Vuong
I’m here to hear your stories.
Every time you speak, you are telling a story, one that lays bare the conditions of your relationships with peoples, bodies, lands, ideas, beliefs, cultures, systems, and much more. There are different kinds of stories you may be reproducing. Problem stories reflect the dominant narratives put on you that do not align with what you care for or how you view yourself in relation to the world around you. Sometimes, they are birthed from trauma(s) that rob you of the preferred stories holding intimate meanings sustaining your acts of living. Regardless of how they come, problem stories bear the weight of societal norms, cultural expectations, and oppressive systems that emphasize your too much-ness or not enough-ness. Inevitably with enough repetition, you become shaped and at times swallowed by these stories you tell.
While your stories shape you, you also shape your stories.
Every time you speak, you have a chance to edit and thicken the story you tell. It is my hope to walk alongside you as we unpack the origins and effects of problem stories imposed on you, make visible sources of power influencing them, and provide nourishment for your preferred stories to grow and guide. Preferred stories store a wealth of knowledge, ethics, skills, desires, and hopes that go unnoticed, get stigmatized, and become buried without your consent. It's about time you reclaim them. Because when you reclaim your stories, you reclaim your life.
So, what would it mean for you to take your stories into your own hands, to tell and retell them at your own pace and on your own terms?
Beliefs About You.
You live a multistoried life.
No single story defines you.
You are inherently resourceful.
Every step you take is significant.
You and your stories matter.
The problem is not you. You are in relationship with the problem. The problem is the problem, often located within your socio-political-cultural contexts.
Areas of Practice.
Exploring multiply marginalized identities
Unlearning internalized oppression and colonial mentality
Unearthing personal, intergenerational, historical trauma and resilience
Unpacking (child of) immigrant and/or refugee experiences
Shifting relationships with depression, anxiety, and the inner critic
Clarifying values through relational conflicts
Navigating spaces holding oppressive values
Moving through life transitions
Bearing witness to grief and loss
Practicing radical love and care