I have lots of experience in the field

I have over 17 years of experience counseling clients in the SF Bay Area, San Jose, and Milpitas areas. I am not a newbie fresh out of school. I have worked in many different settings, including schools, hospitals, research teams, group homes, and drug and alcohol treatment centers.

I have worked with many different populations, from homeless people straight out of prison to CEOs of big companies. See more about my work history here.

I am also a professor at a graduate school, responsible for teaching counseling students enrolled in a master’s degree program.

Why is this important? Think about what you need from a therapist, and you’ll see why it’s best to choose someone well-established in the field.

You want to feel confident that your therapist will not feel shocked or overwhelmed by what you will share. The therapist’s office should be a safe place where you don’t feel exposed or judged. You want to know that he or she will be able to hold your information, take it in, and use it to help you process your feelings.

You don’t want to be fearful that he or she will judge you or violate your privacy. What’s more, you want to know that your therapist has already helped many other clients deal with depression.

I promise you a confidential, caring, service grounded in almost two decades of experience.

I am active in treatment

I don’t fit the traditional therapist stereotype. I don’t sit behind a desk with a pen and paper, taking notes and occasionally looking up to say “uh-huh” as a response to your confessions. I am not simply a “good listener”, I take an active role in your treatment.

Of course, listening is the foundation of a good counseling session. However, I also understand that clients want direction. They want someone who is going to give them strategies and tools to use outside of the sessions.

I will also ask you questions and direct you to dig deeper wherever I feel that it might help.

I am strengths-based

The mainstream Western medical model believes that depression is something to be “cured,” so you can go back to leading a “normal” life. If you have depression, something is wrong with you and you must be “fixed.”

I don’t believe that. Yes, we need to get to a place where you don’t feel depressed anymore. However, I believe that the personality that caused you to be depressed is the same personality that enables you to be deeply compassionate and live a full life.

So, we don’t necessarily need to “fix” you, just redirect your energy and find new strategies for living. In order for the treatment to be successful, you need to build positive behaviors for coping in negative situations. In some cases, you might need to shift your perspective in life, but there is definitely NOTHING wrong with you.

Also, I believe that if you have managed to live with depression, you are incredibly strong and resilient. It is one of the most painful illnesses to have, and the most misunderstood and stigmatized.

You are not someone who needs to be fixed, but someone to be redirected and empowered!

This is my passion

This is not my “default” career. I knew from a young age that this was my life’s purpose. I don’t dread getting up in the morning to go to “work.”

In fact, from my perspective, it is a privilege to help the many people that walk into my office every day. They are some of the most courageous, resilient, intelligent people I have ever met. The opportunity to be there as they to open their hearts to me, sharing their tears and hurts, is truly a gift that I do not take for granted.