Clinical Experience

After moving to the U.S. in 2001 and embracing this country as my own, I began working as a volunteer at San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care (SDHPC) with terminally ill patients. At SDHPC, I provided emotional support to families, facilitating grief expression and helping communicate patients’ last wishes to their loved ones. During this time, I had the honor of engaging in Life Review work with individuals in their final days. Life Review is a therapeutic activity intended to help older adults and those at the end of life find hope, value, and meaning in their lives.

I subsequently earned a Master’s degree in Psychology and obtained licensure to practice psychotherapy in California. I began my professional career working simultaneously at a psychiatric hospital, Alvarado Parkway Institute, and at a nonprofit agency, Vista Hill Foundation, within the Incredible Families Program—a parent-child reconciliation program partnered with Child Welfare Services.

At the hospital, I worked in the inpatient unit with patients experiencing a range of psychiatric disorders, including psychosis and acute safety concerns. At the nonprofit agency, I worked with children who had experienced abuse and neglect, as well as with their parents, providing trauma-informed therapy, teaching the Incredible Years Parenting Program, and supporting family reunification. I had the privilege of working with this agency for five years in several roles, including Therapist, Parenting Educator, and Clinical Supervisor to Marriage and Family Therapy Interns and Trainees.

As my passion for working with children grew over the past decade, I decided to open a practice dedicated exclusively to children and adolescents. Because work with children differs from traditional “talk therapy” used with adults, I became interested in “speaking” children’s natural language: PLAY. After completing years of specialized training in Play Therapy and Expressive Arts, I became a Registered Play Therapist (RPT) and later a Play Therapy Supervisor (RPT-S).

Currently, I divide my time between clinical work, managing team and my beautiful Play Therapy offices, providing trainings, and supervising professionals working toward their Play Therapy and Psychotherapy credentials.

My primary areas of interest and expertise include Play therapy, anxiety disorders in childhood parent education.