My Specialties
In addition to my general practice, I have specialized experience working at the intersection of mind, body, and spirit across a variety of healthcare settings. I am passionate about supporting older adults, family caregivers, those navigating serious health diagnoses, grief, hair loss, aging and body image concerns, as well as challenging life transitions.
Aging
The journey of aging, while natural and inevitable, can often bring forth complex emotions related to shifting identities, physical capacities, and societal messages that influence our relationship with our bodies and our sense of wellbeing.
I offer a therapeutic space to collaboratively explore these feelings and accompanying shifts in ability and body image, supporting you in cultivating deepened acceptance and renewed meaning at any stage of life.
I offer support with the following:
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Processing difficult emotions catalyzed by changes in appearance or ability.
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Addressing the impact of systemic barriers and discrimination, such as ageism and ableism, on holistic wellbeing.
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Exploring new sources of meaning, purpose, and connection.
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Navigating difficult transitions, such as retirement, relocation, or new diagnoses.
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Developing coping strategies, self-compassion, and acceptance through change.
Grief & Loss
While natural and universal, grief often elicits deeply painful and, at times, profoundly isolating thoughts, feelings, and emotions. In instances of trauma, ambiguous or cumulative loss, as well as emotionally fraught relationships, grief might become prolonged or complicated, interfering with our daily life and functioning.
"Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant." - Joan Didion
Grief counseling offers a compassionate, dedicated space to process your experience at your own pace, wherever you may be in your process on the path to acceptance. While there may be no healing from grief, I do believe there is an abundance of healing which can occur through grief—an experience which inevitably brings us into relationship with our deepest humanity.
Life inevitably presents us with a myriad of losses that can touch
the very core of our being. Common catalysts for seeking therapy include:
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Bereavement: The passing of a family member, close friend, or any individual with whom we shared a deep connection.
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Pet Loss: Losing a cherished pet, often comparable in emotional intensity to the death of a person, yet sometimes misunderstood or disenfranchised by others.
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Relationship Loss: The end of a significant relationship, including divorce, separation, friendship breakup, cut-off, or estrangement.
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Perinatal Loss: The loss of a pregnancy or infant death, as in the case of miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, termination, or any other cause.
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Loss of Health: Changes due to illness, injury, or the natural process of aging.
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Job & Financial Loss: The distress and grief of losing employment (e.g., retirement or economic downturns) or facing significant financial challenges.
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Life Transitions: Significant changes in circumstances, like moving to a new city, children leaving home (empty nesting), changes in life trajectory, or emergent shifts in personal identity.
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Climate Grief: Emotional distress from awareness of the climate crisis, including anxiety about the future, grief over environmental loss (deforestation, coral bleaching, mass oil spills) and feelings of helplessness.
I offer support with the following:
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Providing a safe space to acknowledge your unique loss and its daily impact.
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Processing the complex range of grief reactions you may be experiencing (sadness, anger, confusion).
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Developing personalized coping strategies, mindfulness practices, and routines for daily resourcing.
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Creating meaningful rituals to foster an ongoing and evolving connection with who or what has been lost.
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Exploring and integrating emergent shifts in your sense of self and identity.
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Facilitating connections, when appropriate, to additional resources—such as books, memoirs, poetry, podcasts, and support groups—which may be helpful to you.
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Navigating practical tasks after the death of a loved one, such as making funeral arrangements, navigating estate settlements, and the often emotional process of sorting through personal belongings.
Hair Loss
Hair loss—whether from medical treatments, autoimmune conditions, hormonal changes, or stress—can have a profound impact on wellbeing, often evoking feelings of grief, anger, and powerlessness that can deeply affect our relationship to ourselves and to others.
Through my own journey with alopecia, I carry a deep appreciation for how uniquely personal and vulnerable hair loss can be. While my own experience may offer a point of connection, I am committed to meeting you wherever you are along the path of acceptance with care, curiosity, and compassion.
I offer support with the following:
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Processing the grief and emotional impact of hair loss on identity and self-esteem.
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Challenging societal beauty standards and limiting gender norms.
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Exploring shifts in identity and meaning-making.
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Navigating relationship and intimacy concerns, including self-disclosure.
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Developing coping strategies, self-compassion, and acceptance through change.
Older Adults (65+)
Navigating the complexities of later life often brings unique experiences and profound questions, particularly around subjects of meaning, mortality, spirituality, and legacy.
In our work together, I will support you as you delve into these areas, tending to whatever feels most present and alive, inviting greater authenticity, acceptance, and integrity in the final chapters of your life.
I offer support with the following:
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Processing complex emotions evoked by aging and end-of-life concerns.
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Exploring existential and spiritual questions regarding meaning and purpose.
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Processing grief and loss associated with the changes of aging and ability.
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Facilitating life review of past experiences, relationships, beliefs, and values.
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Addressing isolation and fostering meaningful connections with others.
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Engaging with legacy by exploring how you want to be remembered and what you wish to leave behind.
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Supporting end of life care, planning, and advocacy with loved ones and collaborating care providers.
Serious Illness
Significant health challenges, whether chronic or acute, can profoundly impact individuals, their loved ones, and care teams. My practice offers therapeutic support for those facing serious and chronic conditions, end-of-life transitions, as well as family caregivers and healthcare professionals struggling with burnout and fatigue. At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to honoring the dignity, agency, and wellbeing of every human being.
I offer support with the following:
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Processing complex emotions related to illness, death, and dying.
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Exploring meaning-making, values clarification, and legacy work at end of life.
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Promoting agency whilst navigating care decisions and advance care planning.
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Developing caregiver strategies for cultivating balance and managing burnout.
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Facilitating connections with collaborative care providers (doctors, death doulas, and estate planners).
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Providing a supportive space to discuss end-of-life options, including information about the choices available to eligible terminally ill adults under the California End of Life Option Act (EOLOA).
