LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy for Identity, Relationships, Intimacy, and Grief
Helping adults across Los Angeles and California navigate modern dating, anxiety, grief, and life transitions with greater clarity and self-trust.
You may notice yourself repeating relationship patterns, feeling disconnected from what you want, or wondering why intimacy and dating feel harder than they should. Wherever you are, I’m glad you’re here.
I specialize in working with adults, particularly those a part of the LGBTQ+ community, who are moving through moments of change and challenges in relationships, intimacy, and identity.
I currently offer virtual sessions for clients throughout California via telehealth and provide in-person mental health treatment in Los Angeles, both in Burbank and West Hollywood.
Ways I can Support You
Common areas I support clients with include:
Relationships & Intimacy
I help individuals cultivate deeper, more fulfilling relationships with their partners, family, friends, and themselves. Together we explore relationship patterns, emotional needs, and communication styles so you can approach intimacy with greater clarity, confidence, and self-trust.
Dating, Attachment & Relationship Patterns
Modern dating can feel confusing, discouraging, or repetitive. Many people I work with find themselves caught in familiar relationship patterns or unsure how to build the connection they truly want. In therapy we explore attachment tendencies, emotional patterns, and past experiences so you can approach dating and relationships with more awareness and intention.
Anxiety & Stress
Therapy can help reduce chronic stress, manage overthinking, and work through panic, social anxiety, and everyday anxiety that may be disrupting your life. Our work focuses on building awareness and practical ways to regulate your nervous system so you can move through challenges with more steadiness.
Grief & Loss
Grief can arise from many experiences, including the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or a major life transition. Our work together offers space to process what you’re carrying, honor what has been lost, and slowly reconnect with your life in ways that feel meaningful and supportive.
Life Transitions & Identity Exploration
Periods of change often bring up big questions about identity, direction, and belonging. Whether you're navigating a career shift, relationship change, personal growth, or a deeper exploration of who you are, we work to help you make sense of these transitions and move forward with greater clarity and self-trust.
Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation & LGBTQ+ Experiences
I provide affirming LGBTQ+ therapy for individuals exploring or deepening their relationship with gender identity and expression, as well as those navigating stressors related to sexual orientation, identity, relationships, and belonging.
Working Together
Therapy with me is grounded in the here and now. We’ll move at a pace that feels right for you, meeting whatever arises with curiosity and compassion. Here’s what our work might include:
Starting with what’s present
Rather than focusing only on the past, we begin with what you're experiencing right now. Together we pay attention to the patterns that show up in your thoughts, relationships, and body, especially in moments of anxiety, shutdown, or disconnection. From there we explore ways to slow down and regulate, helping you better understand what your nervous system is communicating so you can move forward with greater awareness and confidence.
Honoring queer experiences and liberation
Many traditional therapy models were not designed with queer lives in mind. You deserve therapy that understands LGBTQ+ experiences, including the ways identity, shame, longing, and relationships intersect in everyday life. In our work, these experiences are welcomed and understood. Together we make space to name the impact of being othered, while exploring ways to reclaim your voice, agency, and sense of self.
Moving toward clarity and choice
The goal of therapy isn’t perfection or “fixing” you. Instead, we focus on cultivating deeper self-trust. Over time, therapy can help you feel more grounded in who you are, clarify what matters most, and support you in making choices that feel more honest, aligned, and empowering.
I integrate a number of therapeutic approaches such as Relational Gestalt, Attachment Theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Experiencing, and Acceptance-Based Psychotherapy into my work.
My practice is rooted in queer-affirmative therapy and is sex-positive, kink-aware, and allied with ethical and consensual non-monogamy. I’m committed to ongoing consciousness in my work, creating a space where intersecting identities, including race, gender, sexuality, and class, are recognized, honored, and explored with care.
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” - James Baldwin
About
My Background
I’m a licensed psychotherapist (LMFT #154299) based in Los Angeles, California. Before becoming a therapist, I grew up on a farm in the Midwest and then spent over a decade working in public relations and human resources for tech start-ups and in educational technology. That winding path shapes the way I work: grounded, relational, and deeply curious about the stories we tell ourselves from our past and the ones we’re still unfolding.
My Training
My clinical training began at the Ness Counseling Center where I provided therapy to individuals, couples, and families in collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services. I’ve also served as a grief group facilitator at Our House Grief Support Center, and I’m currently part of the Beyond Psychology Center’s psychotherapist network. I completed my associate training under Michelle Seely, LMFT #41680, whose work in relational Gestalt and Jungian analysis continues to inform my approach.
My Education
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, with concentrations in art, history, and Spanish, from the University of Nebraska and a Master’s in Counseling (Marriage and Family Therapy emphasis) from California State University, Northridge.
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My current rate is $150 per 50-minute session.
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I have a deep clinical interest and evolving specialization in grief and loss, LGBTQ+ issues, relationships, identity and sexuality, and life transitions. Furthermore, many clients come to therapy because dating feels confusing or discouraging. We explore relationship patterns, attachment dynamics, and desires.
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I currently work with Aetna insurance. For clients who wish to use insurance for their therapy that are not with Aetna will be provided with a monthly statement that may be used to submit a claim for out of network coverage.
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The length of therapy varies from person to person. Typically, we start by engaging in weekly sessions and may adjust to every other week or monthly session, depending on how we feel about the therapy progress. However, we will discuss this in collaboration during our initial session and will continue to check in on this topic throughout our work together.
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I work with a variety of people, including adults, older adults, emerging adults, teens and couples. As a queer-identifying clinician, I also enjoy working with individuals who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community and the challenges of such intersections, including identity and sexuality, stress, relationships, and depression, among others.
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I have clients that prefer in-person therapy and others that prefer online. As a result, I see clients in person in Los Angles, both in Burbank and West Hollywood.
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We'll schedule a 15-30 minute consultation to determine if we're a good match. We'll discuss your therapy goals and how I can support you before deciding to move forward. If we do, we'll collaborate on the initial session details so that you feel confident in our future work together.
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Yes. I offer telehealth sessions to clients throughout California. All are welcome.
Commonly Asked Questions
Whether this is your first time exploring therapy or you’re seeking a fresh approach, I welcome you. If you would like to connect and see if we may be a good fit for working together, book a time with me here or if you prefer, fill out the form below and tell me a little bit about you and what you hope to address in therapy. From there, we’ll schedule a free consultation on Zoom to learn more about each other.
I try to respond to all messages within 24-48 hours.
“To be human is to need others, and this is no flaw or weakness.” - Dr. Sue Johnson
Interested in Getting Started?
Recommended Resources
Books
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This book by David Richo offers practical guidance on emotional maturity, focusing on self-awareness, personal growth, and building healthy relationships through responsibility, self-compassion, and mindfulness.
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A collection of poems by Yung Pueblo (Diego Perez) focused on introspection and reflection of self and growth. A book that I come to often for inspiration and connection to self.
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Steeped in meditative practices and guidance, poet and teacher, Stephen Levine, offers a gentle invitation to be with awareness, slowing down and being with with is; presence.
Podcasts
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This podcast episode with Dr. Lehmiller, a fellow at the Kinsey Institute and social psychologist, and Dr. Mogilski, explores a new study that identifies the most common and effective relationship strategies among consensually non-monogamous (CNM) people. The show also explores insights from the Multiple Relationships Maintenance Scale, including how CNM individuals navigate jealousy, resource sharing, and what monogamous couples might learn from their practices.
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In this episode of the “Sex and Psychology” podcast, Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a psychologist and researcher, and Dr. Kate Balestrieri, a psychologist and sex therapist, discuss how and why a decline in sex and intimacy may show up in long-term relationships. The episode also delves into how a decline in desire can be addressed and rediscovered by getting curious.
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In a two-part series, Tara Brach, a psychologist and teacher, discusses our body's language and finding deep connections to our somatic experiences through everyday presence.
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In the podcast Sounds True: Insights at the Edge, host Tami Simon speaks to Terry Real, a family therapist, to discuss building emotional intimacy and communication skills through relationship challenges.
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Relationship expert and therapist, Esther Perel, sits down for dinner with a group in various open and poly relationships. What ensues is colorful and insightful dialogue on how relationships work in the modern day Western world.
Videos
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This excellent video and podcast with Psychotherapist, Dr. Becky, explains how many of the struggles we have in relational experiences trace back to their own childhood experiences, and suggests how we can reparent ourselves by working with shame and becoming sturdier internally to help cultivate a more meaningful connection to ourselves and in our relationships.
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Jeff Foster, a spiritual teacher and author, discusses our negative cycle of internal dialogue and holding and acknowledging the emotions of sadness, hurt, and anger, rather than judging and locking them out aiding in our healing and growth.
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In this filmed interview, world-renowned Jungian psychoanalyst, Dr James Hollis, explores the call from within to change your life. He asks searching and demanding questions such as: What is your soul's deepest desire? What does it mean to psychologically grow up? Why is change so difficult and so frightening?