From 2012 on and prior to private practice, I worked in the substance abuse and mental health field at Sun Street Centers, a non-profit substance use disorder treatment facility, at Community Human Services, an outpatient and residential substance use and mental health program, and lastly Dorothy’s Place, a non-profit agency that deals with homelessness, substance use and mental health. At Dorothy’s Place, I created a holistic program to support individuals getting out of homelessness and into their own independent living situation. I subsequently worked for a public school district as the school-based mental health counselor to provide substance use and mental health treatment to young adults in a high school setting to overcome anxiety, depression, stress related to academics, bullying and self-harming coping behaviors. I am currently employed through Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula as Program Coordinator for the recovery center, a substance use program, and I also fill in at the Adult Partial Hospitalization/Intensive Outpatient Programs as a mental health therapist.
I have extensive knowledge in dual diagnoses, such as mental health and substance use disorder. I have additional training in crisis intervention, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), codependency, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety disorders. My approach is to meet you compassionately and non-judgmentally where you are and then to facilitate treatment using both Eastern and Western modalities so that you may begin the transition to a life filled with acceptance, happiness and peace, which is your right.
