ABOUT ME
MY QUALIFICATIONS
License and Education
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, California- PSY #32867
Licensed Psychologist, New York- #027506-01
Pre and Post-doctoral Internships, UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Center; Eating Disorder Intern
Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Xavier University
Masters of Arts in Psychology, Xavier University
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of Louisville
MY MISSION
Helping You Reach For The Light, In The Darkest Moments
When I decided to start my own private practice, finding a logo was simple. I knew it had to be my tattoo.
In 2017, I experienced a major depressive episode and was in the thick of graduate school. I drew this image on a piece of paper while reflecting on the idea of “reaching for the light”. I remember feeling like it was gone in that moment but, as my therapist reminded me, it was always there behind the clouds.
Now, as a therapist myself, I want to support you in the moments it feels like the light has vanished. Whatever it is; an ED, anxiety, OCD, a major life transition, or the hills and valleys of life, I want to come alongside you to work through the struggle so you can reach your light again.
MY STORY
In the spirit of creating a space for openness, here are some pieces of my own life story.
At just a few months old, I was adopted from Bogotá, Colombia and moved to a predominately white suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio with my parents and older sister (who is also adopted from Colombia). Growing up as a POC with white parents, in the Midwest, questions about my ethnicity were common and often confusing. I grew up mostly thinking I was white and felt disconnected from my Colombian background. Growing up in competitive gymnastics, I recognized mental health struggles in my environment at a young age. I went to a large public high school and graduated in 2010.
I transitioned to a large state college in Kentucky, University of Louisville, and decided to major in Psychology. I took a gap year to work on a psychiatric unit at a Children’s Hospital and in a research lab at UofL. During this year, I realized that I wanted to be a clinical psychologist.
In 2015, I returned to Cincinnati to pursue my doctorate at Xavier University and focused my training on eating disorders. During graduate school, I was contacted by my birth mom through Facebook. This led to lots of mixed emotions and opened up a desire to learn more about where I was from and reconnect with my roots. My family supported me and we all took a trip to Colombia to meet my birth family. This was a life-changing experience for me.
In my fourth year of graduate school, I experienced a series of difficult life events and went through a major depressive episode. With the help of therapy and medication I was able to keep up academically and successfully matched for internship in California. This experience gave me a new perspective on how therapy can support young people during life’s most difficult moments and transitions.
I completed my pre and post-doctoral internships working with college students at University of California, Davis. During my time at UC Davis, I was the Eating Disorder Intern and worked on a multidisciplinary team. When COVID happened, my work with students went fully remote and I became well trained in Telehealth best practices.
After earning my doctorate degree, I moved to Oakland and began working in a small group practice in SF and Marin. I worked full time with the group for almost 3 years. During this time, I was able to take an 8 week trip to Bogotá on my own. I spent time with my birth family, improved my Spanish, and explored the city I am from. In 2023 I moved to Los Angeles and in 2024 I opened my private practice.
