I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (license #38378), as well as a parent with over 19 years of experience navigating the world of special needs. Since 2001, I’ve worked with different populations including premarital counseling, early childhood assessment, and with families in crisis. Now I help parents in San Diego process new diagnoses, grieve what they expected, practice advocating for their children, shore up their resources, and find a new “normal”. I am warm, empathic, and want to support you on this journey. I like to pull from cognitive-behavioral, solution focused, and narrative therapies, as well as communication skill training. Above all, I hold a safe and sacred therapeutic space for parents in need.
Been There, Done That, Still Doing It
My daughter was born in 2006 after a routine and non-complicated pregnancy and delivery. My world was shook to the core when we discovered that she was born with a rare genetic syndrome. After three months in the NICU at Rady Children’s Hospital, in San Diego, she was discharged with a g-tube, tracheotomy, and a long road ahead. Together we have visited with over 19 specialists at the children’s hospital, dealt with not only the g-tube and the tracheostomy but hearing aids, glasses, a halo after a neck break, and countless surgeries. I have helped with speech, physical, and occupational therapies, administered medications through tubes, injections, and orally, and learned that while milestones are great, celebrating “inch-stones” are even better. I have advocated for my daughter with doctors, nurses, and insurance companies. Over 19 years later, I am still my daughter’s caretaker, conservator, and champion. I walk this walk alongside you. I am also on this journey. You are not alone.