Our therapeutic relationship is the foundation for any kind of successful work we might begin.  Here's a little bit of information about myself to help you pick up the phone and find out if we're a good fit! 

For more information about my style of clinical work, please click on the "counseling" tab up top.

Born and raised in sunny Southern California, I attended UCLA where I completed a double major in History and Anthropology.  I was always interested in the Human Story; I loved reading mythology, folk tales and the narratives of the ordinary people and the cultures they inhabited. Concentrating on the stories of women and immigrants in the United States, I graduated with honors and moved to the East Coast.  After experiencing some culture shock and having had to purchase too many pairs of thermal underwear,  I received my Masters from Simmons College School of Social Work, one of the first and oldest social work schools in the nation, located in Boston Massachusetts. It was at Simmons where I also pursued a certification in Urban Leadership which has prepared me quite well for my present work.

I currently work as a bilingual social work supervisor at a family therapy program in a community based agency which serves an urban, immigrant population.  Having once carried a large caseload myself, I've had the privilige to work with famililes who were looking to improve the quality of their lives, their living conditions and their participation in society.  I've chosen to live in the community that I serve, so I have also offered my consulting services to various local pre-schools who were looking for workshop speakers to help parents and staff manage their stress or develop improved parenting skills. 

As the daughter of latin immigrants, I remember what it was like to translate long confusing forms for my parents at hospitals or at school.  With this memory in mind, as well as a belief in the social capital of education, I have also visited many homes in the community, conducting psychosocial assessments in Spanish for pre-school aged children needing learning related services and answering their parents' questions about specal education and other academic related services available to New York City's school children. 

I am currently consulting on a soft skills curriculum for a burgeoning beauticians' cooperative made up of immigrant women and their Amercan-born daughters.  Image manipulation, diversifying beauty ideals and financial savvy are some of the skills included in this work and I'm always thrilled to ask the question, "when is a lipstick more than just a lipstick?" Freud may have an answer, but would he get a free make-over?