Values & Philosophy
I work from the premise that resilience is not an individual trait, but cultivated through community and connection. The oppressive systems we live within methodically create disconnection and fragmentation, then shame us for not being “resilient”. The truth is, we can only thrive when we are in connection with one another.
I believe that through the container of an attuned, safe relationship powerful healing can occur. Harm and healing do not occur in a vacuum and I recognize that we are all intimately connected in the quest for mental liberation. I experience the process of healing to be bi-directional and this work to have great importance for therapist, client, and the collective. It is an honor to join my clients on their journey, experiencing mutuality in the therapeutic relationship, and witnessing the process of wisdom unearthed.
A little bit about me…
My ancestry is half Japanese and half European settler. I was raised on stolen land colonially known as Vancouver, Canada and moved to so-called Seattle in 2013. I graduated from Antioch University Seattle with a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2021 and became a Sensorimotor Psychotherapist in 2022.
My passion for this work began with my own journey of healing and mental liberation, greatly influenced by the transformative power of community and connection. Engaging in this work is a great honor for me, and it is also a great responsibility. I love what I do and feel invested in it, and at the same time hold that this field/industry was created under the influence of cis-hetero-patriarchy, white supremacy, and settler colonialism. I acknowledge that both harm and healing take place in the context of oppressive systems and I take great care to minimize the perpetuation of harm.
It is important to me as a therapist and as a human with various privileges, to contribute to individual and collective healing from colonial capitalist practice. I am committed to the disruption and dismantling of oppressive systems, and am equally committed to the dreaming of and movement toward a co-created future rooted in equity and community care. I am continually moving towards personal liberation, collective liberation, and joy and ease in the pursuit of both.
Outside of my role as a therapist and “activist,” I enjoy spending time with my family, which includes my partner and two energetic children, connecting with my (related and chosen) family and my platonic loves, tapping into creative outlets, such as writing and performing music, and spending time in nature.
My practice is heart-centered, somatically based, and community driven.
The relationship between therapist and client is fundamental to this work and it is my privilege to provide a safe space for folks to undertake this vulnerable and often difficult journey. I see my role as walking alongside, honoring wisdom and strengths, and supporting a return “home” - to safety in the body and with emotions, attuned connection with others, belief in the innate capacity for healing, and an embodied sense of identity, values, and needs.
Theoretical Lens
I work from a client-centered, strengths-based, trauma-informed perspective, using Sensorimotor Psychotherapy with a liberatory lens as the foundation for my practice. In session, I utilize psychoeducation, mindfulness-based techniques, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Parts Work (IFS), Feminist Theory, Needs Consciousness (NVC), and Narrative and Strengths-Centered/Resilience-Centered Therapy.
Above all, I employ an embodied, “bottom up,” somatic approach, in which relational and bodily attunement create the conditions where healing can occur and an increased capacity to build, sustain, and rely on community is developed. As the foundation for our work together, I want you to feel safe, heard, seen, and held.
I bridge social justice and psychotherapy into a political practice focused on collective liberation.
I work from the premise that the interplay of identity and social context fundamentally influences how we show up in the world and in relationships with others and ourselves. I pay close attention to intersections of identities and invite exploration of how socio-political-cultural factors impact experience. Bringing attention to these factors is paramount to our discovery and healing process, as much of the harm we experience is intrinsically related to oppressive systems and narratives. I seek to honor each individual’s identity and story within the context of self, relationships, ancestry, and culture.
My practice is rooted in principles of collective liberation. My lens is anti-racist, queer friendly, gender affirming, HAES, anti-ableist, poly friendly, and sex-positive.
How Can Therapy Help?
Our experiences, largely shaped by the context of the systems we are embedded in, influence the development of our nervous systems. Our brains are wired to be in connection with others which is the key to resiliency. Too often, lack of attunement in our environment encourages our nervous systems to develop habitual tendencies to move towards protection and away from connection. These modes of functioning have helped us to survive and thus served a great purpose; they are a reflection of our adaptive nature and our extraordinary ability to persevere through adversity.
When our circumstances, environments, and/or levels of safety changes, these protective mechanisms may not be helpful anymore, often having a negative impact on our relationships and lives.
Everyone comes with unique histories, struggles, and concerns. I honor this and employ a personalized approach for each client. Generally, therapy is helpful when there is something asking for attention and impeding the ability to live fully in various areas of life. Perhaps there is a feeling of “stuckness” or of being less than whole.
The truth is we are all whole. My only “goal” is to support this remembering through a depathologizing lens that celebrates the adaptive nature of human beings, recognizes and names the harmful systems and experiences that create the need for protection, and uncovers the deep wisdom we all have access to - extending to sources of power and connection from community, ancestors and/or spiritual faith. I tread lightly, carefully, and with intention. I respect the ways in which each person’s system has learned to protect and allow the body to guide the healing through a somatic approach, as the body is where trauma is both stored and healed.
““It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
-JIDDU KRISHNAMURTI
Land Acknowledgment & Action Item
In the Seattle area, we occupy stolen Coast Salish land, specifically the ancestral land of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Stillaguamish, and Muckleshoot Nations. May we honor, with gratitude, the land itself and the peoples of the Coast Salish tribes, past and present, and may we support Indigenous sovereignty on Turtle Island and world wide. The Duwamish (Dxʷdəwʔabš) tribe is fighting for federal recognition and has been for the last 40 years. Learn more about the Duwamish tribe and their fight for federal recognition here. If you have the means, please join me in paying rent.