Work Experience

Therapy is my third career. After suffering a quarter-life crisis in my 20’s I left my well paid job in the entertainment industry of New York and moved back to my home state of California to become a yoga instructor. For a decade I taught classes and private sessions for various organizations including Johnson & Johnson, Adobe, Kaiser Permanente’s Mind-Body Wellness Center, and Stanford’s Health Improvement Program. I eventually became director of a Wellness Clinic where I learned about the emerging field of Somatic Psychology. I enrolled in Graduate School immediately.

Once I became licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist, I then worked as a Bilingual Family Therapist ( Spanish-English) in a busy medical Center. There I developed two programs:

Program Development

Reclaiming our Bodies: A somatic program to help woman regain a more positive self/body image.

Emotions in Motion : A program for Kids to also develop a positive self/body image as well as important skills of emotional and physical regulation. I am so honored that this program became the focus of a post-doctoral research study conducted by doctoral candidates Leslie Gould, and Sara Yap under the supervision of Dr. Corsiglia of Kaiser Permanente Department of Psychiatry.

I have a lifelong path of learning ever since. Here are just some of the Highlights:

Education

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, June 2005.   Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, CA.  Certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy

Couples Therapy Training

Marriage & Family Therapy Training level I & II, Couples Therapy: Theory & practice   (required courses for license) Institute for Transpersonal Psychology  2002-2005

Developmental Model Couples Therapy Training, Couples Therapy Institute, Menlo Park, CA 2011. A post graduate -level training developed by Dr. Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson.

Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT), PACT institute (Online), 2020-21. A post graduate -level training developed by Stan Tatkin. Levels 1 & 2.

Trauma Training

Touch Skills Trainings for Trauma Therapists with Kathy L. Kain and Steve Terrell, 2015-2017 Kathy Kain is a Core Faculty Member of the Somatic Experiencing Training Program and amazingly skilled and smart master trainer in the area of Medical and Developmental trauma. Steve Terrell has a heart of gold and is s true healer who also specializes in developmental trauma. He has since developed his own training program: Transforming the Experience Based Brain.

Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, SE Training -Advanced level , Certified Somatic Experiencing Practioner (SEP) 2015

EMDR Training Level I & II: Alliant University, with Laura Parnell, PhD, 2011-2012

 Expressive Arts Training

Tamalpa Institute: Training in Expressive Arts therapy, San Rafael, Ca (2004, 2006, 2011)

Building Blocks Training: teaching parents to help their children, Kaiser Permanente, (2011)

Dream Dancing: A year- long professional study group with Dr. Tina Stromstead, Ph.D., BC-DMT (2010)

Certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, (2005)

Expressive Arts Therapy: Theory and Practice, CMI Education Institute, (2008)

Yoga, Meditation, Movement & Mindfulness

The Realization Process, Transpersonal Embodied Psychotherapy Center. Judith Blackstone (2020)

Prenatal Yoga Instructor, Urban Breath Yoga, Saint Louis, MO, 2014

Yoga Immersion Workshop with Saul David Raye, Sept 2013

Breath of Life Yoga Training, Santa Clara CA, Jan, (2010)

Franklin Body-Mind Method Intensive, Tom McCook & Eric Franklin, CA, Aug, (2008)

Studied with various Instructors including Shiva Rae, Judith Hanson Lasater, Erich Schiffmann, Kelly McGonigal, Scott Blossom (2005-2009)

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program with Bob Stahl (2005)

Certified Yoga Instructor, Yoga Educational Seminars, YES (2003)

Kids & Families Training

AutPlay, Play therapy Program for Kids on the Autism Spectrum, (2020).

Dance Movement Therapy for Children and Adolescents, with Susan Loman, M.A., BC-DMT, NCC, Center for Movement Education and Research (2011), 30 hours

Collaborative Problems Solving with Behaviorally Challenged Kids, Presented By Dr. Ross Greene, Kaiser Permanente Conference (2010)