My Path to This Work
My practice is deeply rooted in my own lived experience. I know the journey of surviving intimate partner violence, of navigating different cultures as an immigrant, and of holding a multidimensional and neurodivergent identity in the face of systemic challenges. This isn't just my story; it’s the foundation that allows me to offer a truly empathetic and non-judgmental space for yours.
I am also a client of therapy and believe deeply in its power. My own healing has taught me that when we find our path to wholeness, we light the way for others. This belief is the heart of my mission: to empower you to heal, so you can become a source of strength and wellness in your family and community.
Outside of the therapy room, I live a full and vibrant life. You can often find me powerlifting, trying new restaurants, hiking local trails, painting with watercolor, or simply enjoying time with my partner and my community. These moments of joy and connection are essential to my own well-being.
Ikaw? Anong storya mo?
If my story and approach resonate with you, I invite you to take the next step. Let's begin with a complimentary 15-minute introductory call to explore if we're a good fit.
Therapeutic Approaches
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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Trauma isn't just stored in your thoughts. It lives in the body and in parts of the brain that words don't easily reach. EMDR uses gentle, rhythmic stimulation to help your nervous system process what's been stuck. You don't have to retell your story in detail. Many clients find that a relief.
Recommended by the World Health Organization, EMDR has strong evidence for PTSD, anxiety, and the layered trauma that often comes with immigration, family stress, and navigating multiple worlds.
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT teaches practical skills for managing intense emotions, tolerating hard moments, and communicating in relationships. It's structured and concrete. You'll leave sessions with tools you can actually use.
For many clients, these are skills no one ever taught them, not at home, not in school, not anywhere. I adapt DBT to fit your cultural context, because what "healthy boundaries" or "effective communication" looks like isn't the same for everyone. Originally developed for people experiencing intense emotional pain, DBT is now one of the most well-researched therapeutic approaches available.
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Somatic Ecotherapy
Many of us feel the state of the world deeply. The grief of environmental loss, anxiety about the future, and the weight of living between cultures can settle into the body in ways that are hard to name. Somatic Ecotherapy creates space for all of it.
This approach invites a relationship with nature that goes both ways: receiving what it offers and becoming more attuned to how we can give back. Sessions can be outdoors, indoors, or virtual. We use the body as a guide, noticing what shifts when you slow down and pay attention.
Research supports what many cultures have always known: time in nature lowers anxiety, reduces cortisol, and helps regulate the nervous system. For highly sensitive people especially, reconnecting with the natural world can be genuinely restorative.
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Brainspotting
Where you look affects how you feel. Brainspotting finds specific eye positions connected to where trauma lives in your nervous system, helping release what's held in the subcortical brain, the deeper parts that store fear, shame, and survival responses, without requiring you to explain it all.
Sessions feel quiet and internal. For people who've spent years staying strong for everyone else, it can open doors that other approaches sometimes can't. Growing research supports its effectiveness for trauma, performance anxiety, and chronic pain.
Credentials
To become a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California, a therapist must hold a master's degree, complete 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience, and pass two rigorous state board exams.
Continuous education is also required to maintain a license.
This entire process is overseen by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to ensure your therapist provides safe, qualified, and ethical care.
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Building resilience after trauma
Support for survivors of intimate partner violence
Support for immigrants and children of immigrants
Working through worry and fear to feel more grounded
Moving through periods of sadness, stuckness, or hopelessness
Healing difficult relationship patterns
Navigating life's changes and new chapters
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I have come to learn that there is no one-size-fits-all in therapy. The methods we use will be chosen carefully based on your unique story and goals. Our work might include:
Exploring Your Roots: Gently looking at how your earliest relationships and life experiences influence how you connect with others today.
Building Your Skills: Developing practical coping and communication tools to help you navigate challenges with more confidence.
Understanding Your World: Examining the impact of culture, family narratives, and societal systems on your identity and well-being.
I use an integration of evidence-based approaches to therapy. You may check what’s in my therapeutic toolbox to see what formal and intensive clinical trainings I have completed.
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I have completed intensive and formal trainings in the following therapeutic modalities:
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Child-Centered Play therapy (CCPT)
Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy Level 1
Integrative Somatic Parts Work Levels 1-3
Brainspotting Phases 1 & 2
Somatic Ecotherapy Level 1
Family systems, psychodynamic and attachment-based approaches
California State Certified Domestic Violence Counselor Training
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Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with concentration in Marriage & Family Therapy, University of San Francisco
Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts major in Speech Communication, University of the Philippines (Los Banos)
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American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (AAMFT)
California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (CAMFT)
San Francisco Chapter of California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (SFCAMFT)
Asian Mental Health Collective
Kasamahan Filipino-American Mental Health Community
International Association for Ecotherapy
International Brainspotting Practitioners
Brainspotting Practitioners of Color
Endorsements