About Me
Photo: Eli Haan
As a queer and trans nonbinary femme, I’ve learned that listening to my inner truth is more important than anything. Close relationships—with professional helpers, chosen family, and community—have been vital in my process of coming to know myself and healing.
One thing I discovered about myself along the way, is that I'm enchanted by possibility and the unknown. I love how the places which seem most familiar and known to us—such as our own bodies and minds—are ever shifting and changing.
As a counselor, I love that I get to be a co-explorer and guide in these vast landscapes. I've worked as a counselor for 7 years. It feels like magic to me.
Education
++ California Institute of Integral Studies
Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Somatic Psychology
Masters thesis, Therapeutic Landscapes: Clinical Relationship as Holding Environment, integrating and applying theories of complex/historical trauma, relational enactment, regulation, and resiliency through a somatic lens.
++ Western Washington University
Bachelor of Art in Interdisciplinary Studies
Self-designed concentration, Facilitating Empowerment through Body Awareness and Expression, exploring the intersection of somatic psychology, cross-cultural healing, and expressive arts.
Prior Experience
++ I worked in a K-8 public school health clinic as a mental health counselor
++ I worked on a crisis hotline and in the psychiatric emergency department
++ I worked with kids, teens, and adults in residential mental health programs
++ I facilitated arts groups for kids and teens in transitional housing programs
++ I led backpacking and sailing trips with teens in a wilderness therapy program
When I'm not working as a counselor, I love reading (creative nonfiction, magical realism, and sci-fi), seeing live performance art, cooking soup, and venturing out to the coast for ocean swims.