Frequently Asked Questions

While I miss doing therapy in person, right now life has me sticking with online sessions indefinitely!

Wherever you are in California, you won’t have to worry about starting work together online, then me suddenly returning to work fully in person.

Each week we spend 50 minutes together, figuring out how you want to live your life and what it would mean for you to be truly happy.

I have a 48-hour cancellation policy for all sessions. I need to receive your explicit request for a cancellation 48 hours before the appointment time. Otherwise, you are responsible for the full session fee.

Any rescheduling can be made, so long as you’re able to make another appointment time I have available the same week. Same week reschedules are not always guaranteed, so please plan thoughtfully. I get that stuff happens! Everyone gets a freebie cancellation/no-show to use when they please.

Unfamiliar with the process? First time looking for a therapist? Great, I’m glad you’re here!

The first few sessions are about getting to know one another. We will explore your past, present, and what you hope for in your future. We’ll explore family history and your relationships and uncover why you’re finally taking this huge step in your life. You’ll be learning about the ways I ask questions; I’ll be getting to know your story through your eyes – listening with curiosity and asking deliberate questions to help us learn where you’d like to go next.

Everyone’s healing work looks different. Some people find sharing stories in sequential order is preferred. Others find sharing stories as they come up helps them uncover what they really want to get into, and we pivot. There is no right way to get started. Favorite movies, songs, artists, books, you name it – we’ll discuss it.

After we’ve identified some recurring themes in your life story, we’ll begin to trace the history of those themes, how they’ve affected you, and discover what keeps you from living life authentically and according to your values.

In our work together, we will sift through the stories you’ve learned to tell yourself, learn about your preferred ways of living, and help you get back in touch with the person you want to be.

I believe that the heavy lift of healing happens in the 50 minutes we spend together each week.

As you open yourself up in therapy, you will need time for the mind and body to rest from whatever we discover in sessions. Allowing time to process during the in-betweens (of sessions) can be powerful and contribute to lasting change. There is no right timeline for healing.

While it isn’t my default position to assign homework, I see the value structure can bring to some. If it’s something you need, we will collaborate on appropriate to-dos together that I feel are purposeful and complement the work we do in sessions.

Imagine your life is a book: each chapter might represent different periods of time, experiences, thoughts, emotions, or values. Our work in narrative therapy is to explore and understand each of these chapters to learn how you came to be you. Along the way, we find what no longer works for you and why.

In narrative therapy, you aren’t defined by a single story you’ve told yourself – or that others have told you to believe about yourself. You aren’t defined by a single problem. I take ALL of your lived contexts into consideration in our work, and stay curious about all the systems at play that keep you feeling stuck or unhappy.

As your therapist, I’m not an expert telling you how to live your life. How could I? You’ve lived your whole life longer than I have been a part. My job is to witness your story.

My job is to ask the tough questions that help you explore alternative perspectives, create new stories, and that help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself, your unique strengths, your values, and the small opportunities that contribute to lasting change.

I graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelors in Cognitive Psychology. After that, I got my first “big girl” job at a consulting firm where I gained a lot of experience with corporate life and navigating young adulthood as a working professional.

While working full-time, I attended a fully employed program at Pepperdine University and obtained my Masters in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage & Family Therapy. I got most of my training and hours for this license working in community mental health, before fully transitioning to private practice in 2021. I’ve also completed a 57-hour training for EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and offer this as a service to clients who may benefit from it. I’m grateful I was able to take the time to learn my craft and receive training from supervisors with a passion for helping people and this field.

I’m currently a Doctoral student at The Chicago School, where I am pursuing a Doctorate in Applied Clinical Psychology, and currently doing a clinical rotation at a mental health hospital. Eventually, this path leads to licensure as a Psychologist in California. My research study is my way of honoring my heritage and is titled Filipinos Living in the United States: Lived Values, Satisfaction with Life, and the Remnants of a History of Colonization.

In fall 2023, I said goodbye to full-time corporate life and went all in on my love for serving clients and this field. It was seven years of working around the clock, with one foot in corporate by day and one foot in the helping profession by night. I truly understand the weight of responsibility and the difficulty of finding ways to be present with life and slow down.

Well, you’ve made it this far and aren’t tired of reading yet!

Finding the right therapist isn’t like finding any other medical professional out there.

You don’t tell your endocrinologist or cardiologist about how your boss just pissed you off, your deepest darkest secrets, that one cringe memory from college, your friend break ups or why you just can’t get over that one fight with your significant other.

You share your life story with your therapist.

You should probably enjoy talking with them.

It took me a while to learn to trust my own gut. I had to take massive leaps of faith. With the help of my own therapy, I’ve learned to trust my voice and values along the way.

If anything on this website stands out to you or feels similar to your life story in ways you can’t explain, I hope you take a leap of faith for yourself and schedule a free consultation.