About Me
I’m a therapist who originates from Los Angeles, California and I spent 10 years of my life studying and working in the Netherlands. I completed a MA in Counseling Psychology and began my own practice in 2016, working mainly with the expat and international communities in the Netherlands. I’ve had clients from over 40 (and still counting!) different countries and I’m eternally grateful to receive insight into so many different cultures. I also worked as a research assistant studying the psychological and social needs of victims of human trafficking. In 2020, I decided to move back to California, where I have an office in Felton (Santa Cruz County), although I still practice in the Netherlands and all over the world with online sessions.
I was a licensed therapist in the Netherlands and I’m currently a member of the American Counseling Association and adhere to their ethical principles. I’m an avid reader and I regularly attend psychotherapy conferences and trainings to stay up to date with the field. My greatest passions are psychology and psychotherapy. I spend a lot of time on my own personal growth by journaling, meditating, being in nature, and engaging in my own therapy, as well as some of my favorite activities - gardening, yoga, qi gong, dancing, cooking, going to plays and taking walks with my cats.
I come from a long lineage of Jewish people and I have spent a great deal of my own healing journey trying to understand how this has impacted me. An upsetting but crucial thing I had to come to terms with was my own shame and distancing myself from the Jewish people and culture that I did for many years.
In understanding intergenerational trauma, I realized that this shame made sense and had been passed down to me from my ancestors who struggled to make a life for themselves in a very antisemitic climate. In exploring my family history, I learned that in the 1950’s, my great-grandfather went so far as to change our last name to a less Jewish sounding last name to ensure he would get customers in his business.
A huge part of my healing journey has centered on reconnecting with my roots by learning about my family history, the Jewish faith, culture and people.
