BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

I am a psychotherapist dually licensed in New York and California. I have a flexible ability to empathize and heal across multiple populations. Working with children, couples, individuals and groups over the course of many years, I incorporate empathy, awareness, curiosity, support, and frustration into my work. I use my experience and sensitivity to empower clients, promoting growth and actualization in the service of your highest good.

Since age 14, I have known my duty was to administer psychotherapy. My grandfather was a psychoanalyst from Quito, Ecuador, and immigrated to the United States when Freud and Jung were making their way into modern psychology. I was fascinated by the books in his study, and my fascination only deepened as I learned more about the psyche and its constantly evolving manifestations.

I obtained a Master's of Arts as well as a Master's of Education in Counseling and Clinical psychology from Teacher's College, Columbia University, in the state of New York. There I received concentrated training on racial-cultural awareness, studying under Dr. Robert T. Carter, the founder of the term "microaggression." I also pursued post-graduate training at the Gestalt institute for four years. Gestalt is a technique focused on psychosomatic awareness, embodied traumas, and self-regulation.

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Upon graduating, I worked in an outpatient clinic, seated in the heart of Bushwick, Brooklyn, for several years and then began to work in a private practice in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. My clients have ranged from three years old to 90, from murderers to celebrities, from worried mothers to Latin Kings. I have advocated for the successful gender transitions of multiple clients, I've counseled entire families and very much enjoy relationship treatment. I've worked with clients in many countries, collaborated with many healthcare professionals on treatment plans, coordinated learning structures for behaviorally challenged students, and designed and run group therapy. I have done a lot and I still have to much to learn... maybe even things to learn about you.

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I also have been educated by the adversity of life, and I understand that much of my and your education comes from valuable lessons not measured by diplomas or certificates. I prioritize education as a ticket to freedom, and I acknowledge that we live in an unfair social system filled with egotism, power, ignorance, injustice, racism, sexism, and abuse. While I see the institutionalized trauma, I also acknowledge the privileges and beauty that permeate this world, and I try to use my privilege as an ally to right the wrongs of society on an individual, community, and structural level. 

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