About Me
There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from functioning at a high level while privately carrying something heavy. The pressure to stay capable, self-sufficient, and composed regardless of what is happening internally. The sense that your struggles do not quite count because you are, by every visible measure, doing fine.
That experience is at the center of my work.
I am a licensed clinical psychologist and licensed professional counselor with over 20 years of experience in trauma-focused and identity-focused psychotherapy. I specialize in supporting high-achieving women who have learned to perform strength so consistently that they have lost touch with what it actually feels like to inhabit their own lives. My work focuses on building a steadier, more compassionate relationship with yourself, one grounded in authenticity rather than performance.
Approach to Therapy
My approach is relational, trauma-informed, and rooted in understanding how early experiences shape self-worth, emotional regulation, and relationship patterns. The patterns that bring most of my clients into therapy did not appear from nowhere. They formed in environments where being strong, self-sufficient, or accommodating felt necessary, and they worked. Understanding what those patterns protected, and what they cost, is often where the most meaningful work begins.
Together we explore how these patterns developed, what they are still trying to do, and how to build new internal and relational experiences that allow for genuine safety, confidence, and presence rather than the performed versions of those things.
Treatment draws from EMDR, CBT, ACT, and attachment-focused psychotherapy. The work is collaborative and paced to support depth while maintaining emotional stability throughout the process.
Personal Perspective
I understand this work from the inside.
I am a Filipino-American woman and Army veteran who has navigated her own version of the experience most of my clients describe. The self-doubt that follows achievement. The habit of performing capability so consistently that you lose track of where the performance ends. The quiet sense that belonging requires continuous proof.
Military service gave me a specific and embodied understanding of how the imposter voice operates inside systems that reward endurance while punishing authenticity. I carried that understanding into my clinical training and I carry it into every room where I work.
That personal history does not make me my clients’ therapist. It makes me a more honest and more grounded one.
Outside of the office I paint, I run, and I am finishing a book. All three are daily reminders that showing up imperfectly is the only way anything actually gets done.
I bring all of that into the room with every client.
Education
Doctor of Psychology, PsyD — Clinical Psychology Capella University, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Internship: West Valley Family Development Center, Avondale, Arizona — individual and family therapy, psychological and neuropsychological assessments, and clinical supervision.
Master of Arts — Professional Counseling Argosy University, Phoenix, Arizona
Internship: Outpatient treatment with children and adolescents navigating behavioral, psychological, and emotional challenges in the Phoenix area.
Bachelor of Science — Psychology Arizona State University
Professional Experience
My clinical background spans outpatient, residential, and community mental health settings, with a focus on complex trauma, identity reconstruction, and relational healing.
I completed residential trauma and addiction training at The Meadows in Wickenburg, Arizona, where I worked alongside Pia Mellody and Claudia Black, two of the most influential clinicians in the field of trauma and relational recovery. That training continues to shape how I understand the long-term effects of early relational experiences and the patterns they leave behind. I also completed post-doctoral training at Rosewood Ranch, a residential eating disorder treatment center in Wickenburg, and have provided psychological services across community mental health settings including case management work under the Maricopa County Regional Behavioral Health Authority, where I worked with individuals navigating serious mental illness.
Prior to entering clinical practice I served in the US Army. The structure, cultural exposure, and high-stakes environments of military service continue to inform my direct, grounded approach to therapeutic work and my understanding of the particular challenges faced by service members, veterans, and their families.
Additional Professional Roles
American Red Cross — Disaster Mental Health Volunteer I served as a disaster mental health volunteer providing crisis intervention and emotional support during local and national emergencies. That work reinforced something I carry into every clinical setting — that people are remarkably resilient when they feel genuinely supported rather than managed.
Arizona Psychological Association I am a member of the Arizona Psychological Association, where I co-chaired the Student Affairs Committee and served on the Ethics Committee.
Interviews
In the Community
I was honored to be interviewed by the Psychology Department at Arizona State University as part of their alumni series, watched by undergraduate students preparing for careers in psychology. If you are a student exploring the field, I hope it is useful.
Arizona State University
Check out what the Psychology Department at ASU, my Alma Mater, can offer as well as seeing how I had the honor of contributing to this program.
Forks UP!