a psychologist in Carlsbad

she/her

At our core, I believe we are all relational beings. From infancy and throughout our lives, we strive to feel connected with others and accept ourselves more deeply. When these ties to self or others are threatened or disrupted, profound pain and suffering can result.

As a psychologist, I aim to help you heal and restore the relationships that matter most, including how you relate to yourself. I am trained throughout the developmental spectrum and work with children, adolescents, and adults of all ages. Perhaps you are looking at your child or adolescent and are confused by their behavior or at a loss for how to help them. Maybe you or an important relationship in your life is suffering and you feel stuck. Or you simply know that you could use extra support during a particularly difficult season of life. Whatever challenges you are facing, my goal is to meet you with genuineness, empathy, and the fundamental belief that each of us is doing the best we can with the resources we have available to us in any given moment.

Together, we can work to better understand your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in the context in which they occur. Human emotion and behavior are purposeful and provide important information about our needs, values, and desires. When we can uncover and validate these driving forces, we are then able to shift emotional and relational patterns that may no longer serve us. As a therapist trained in several different modalities and techniques, the vehicle for these shifts may range from processing early attachment relationships to modifying unhelpful behaviors, practicing new ways of engaging with the most important people in our lives, and more. Regardless of how we work to meet your goals, my ultimate hope is to provide a warm, sensitively attuned, and responsive environment that allows for vulnerability, connection, and change.

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Nurturing the Parent-Child Bond

Decades of research confirms what many of us intuitively know—the relationship between parent and child is fundamentally and profoundly important. Our children’s outcomes are invariably associated with our own well-being as parents. Sometimes, however, we struggle with how to cultivate that well-being amid other challenges and responsibilities. Or we find ourselves unsure of how to respond to our children in ways that are both supportive of their emotional experience and in line with the limits we need to set to ensure our own, our children’s, and others health and safety. I know, and have so much compassion for, that challenge as a parent.

When children or parents (or both!) are struggling with confusing or distressing emotions and behaviors, I work to support both parts of this vital relationship. I help children and adolescents find healthy ways of expressing and coping with their feelings and provide parents with the tools and resources to attune to their children’s needs. Through attending to each part of this dynamic system and fostering a secure connection, I find that the result is often long-lasting healing and positive change for all.