I believe in seeing oneself in the complexity of one’s story and through the multiplicities of identities. I identify as a queer, cis woman of color; a Pinay, feminist, and martial artist. I am a descendent of Filipino, Italian, and Polish ancestors who immigrated and settled in the U.S.; I grew up within a multi-racial family. I was born in the Philippines to a Filipina mother and American father. I am a descendant of survivors of third-world poverty and grew up within the American working class. I also grew up as a child in a military family until my father retired from the U.S. Navy. I then lived my adolescent years and early adulthood in Pennsylvania. After pursuing educational and professional opportunities in Utah, I became a part of the community; however, professional training opportunities and family drew me back east, where I currently reside in Ohio, or originally known as Erie and Kaskaskia traditional territories (see Native Land app to begin learning about the history of the land you are on).

I have been privileged to engage in clinical work and to learn within multiple settings, including university counseling centers, inpatient and outpatient behavioral health settings, the Ute Tribe’s Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and private practice. I have also served diverse populations including a tribal community, active duty military and veterans, general population, and university students, faculty and staff; with a range of clinical presentations that includes depression, suicidality, anxiety, substance use disorders, childhood trauma, sexual trauma, stressors and adjustments to major life changes, interpersonal stressors, grief, and identity. Because of my interests and shared collective identities, some of my clinical expertise or specialities include working with individuals and communities whose social identities are on the margins of mainstream society such as Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, Women of Color, and especially those who are questioning their social identities that may include, but not limited to, gender and sexuality, spirituality, religion, gender role socialization, and values. Additionally, I work with all clients of diverse backgrounds and clinical struggles who find my therapeutic approach helpful to them. Overall, I am trained as a generalist and as a Counseling Psychologist, with a feminist multicultural and trauma-informed training background.

I also have experience using feminist and decolonizing methods in my research on the topic of women of color healing through martial arts. My goal is to incorporate this into my practice in the future through wellness, movement-based workshops, and feminist and community-based research and education. Additionally, I am committed to staying engaged with my local psychological association to be informed on relevant legislation and its impact on social issues and engaging in and consultation groups for quality and trauma-informed care and inclusive practices which include both local and national organizations, including those that are feminist, gender and sexually diverse inclusive, and those who are committed to decolonizing and indigenizing, including learnings from Filipinx/o/a community leaders and culture bearers.

I work with my clients to empower them through awareness into the underlying influences of their clinical distress and life difficulties, which may include personal and social history, relationships, culture, and society. I am an empathic listener and support clients in identifying their own needs, challenges, and what is working or no longer working for them. I believe in meeting clients where they are at and to work together to build a safe, trusting, and meaningful therapeutic relationship.

My therapeutic approach is collaborative, integrative, and trauma-informed. I use methods from feminist multicultural, client-centered, interpersonal process, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness. I believe in mind-body integration and work with clients to develop that connection through mindfulness, meditation, and movement. While I am trained in EMDR, I am currently not providing EMDR-specific protocol in my therapy with clients. However, I do incorporate major EMDR components such as exploring cognitions, brief body scan, identifying current day triggers, and exploring the relationship with triggers to prior significant experiences.

My areas of interest and expertise include substance use disorders, sexual trauma, historical and cultural trauma, intergenerational trauma, and generational status within family-of-origin, migrations, and movement across family histories. Additional interests include identity, including racial identity, biracial or multiracial identities, queer and questioning, and minority-based stressors especially race-based stressors and Women of Color in Predominantly and Historically White Institutions.