LGBTQ+ Mental Health
I am a queer therapist who has both lived experience and specialized training in navigating challenging experiences as an LGBTQ+ individual. Often LGBTQ+ individuals have had to conceal parts of their identity and have faced living in an unsafe society that still holds biased views about gender and sexuality. I am a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and have background and experience working with sexual and gender-diverse individuals and providing letters for gender-affirming surgeries.
I have worked with individuals of many backgrounds who are in the process of intentional family building. I am a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and have experience working with LGBTQ+ families, solo parents, folx going through fertility treatment, and new parents. I provide therapy and/or consultation services regarding building a family with egg or sperm donation or with a gestational carrier. I also provide psychoeducational assessments for intended parents using third party reproductive services (e.g. donor sperm, donor eggs, or donor embryos) and follow the American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines.
Family Building and Fertility
Training
Experience
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Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of California (PSY#31973)
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Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine
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Post-Doctoral Training Stanford University School of Medicine
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Clinical Internship Training at University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Psychiatry
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Doctoral Training at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
I am trained in and primarily use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as my therapeutic approach. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based treatment that is found to be effective for a range of psychological difficulties. There are currently over 300 randomized control trials of ACT published with significant support for its efficacy with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, stress, and substance abuse. At its core, ACT involves learning to become more aware and open to difficult internal experiences and making changes to moves towards meaningful values. These changes allow for an increase in psychological flexibility, an ability to stay in contact with the present moment and change one's behavior according to underlying values. While ACT is my primary theoretical orientation, I am also trained in several other evidence-based practices, and use them based on my clients’ individual needs.
