Social justice and antiracism are central to my value system, worldview and therapeutic practice. In my doctoral program at Pepperdine, I was given the gift of safety and compassion during a first year course, “Sociocultural Basis of Behavior”, as I began to unravel the complicated layers of my own cultural identity, confronting my own biases and privilege. That initial gift has given me the courage and self compassion to continue to invest in this lifelong process of self-reflection and learning. Most recently, as the nation gasped in horror over the violent realities faced by BIPOC people, I was confronted with my own white fragility, gripped by a desire to gnash my teeth and scream my outrage from the rooftops. Instead, I have recognized that finding ways to amplify BIPOC voices and foster equity and inclusion in my practice and community is more helpful than getting drawn into inhabiting the trope of the white savior.

To promote equity and inclusion, my practice offers a low fee/sliding scale program reserved for BIPOC, LGBTQAI+, and recent immigrants/asylum seekers who would not be able to afford services otherwise. While I am honored to hold space for individuals of diverse backgrounds, I recognize that some may prefer to work with therapists who may better understand their lived experience. Thus, I maintain a robust and diverse referral network of BIPOC clinicians to whom I can refer.