Life can take a lot out of our hands. I want you to have your power back. Whether it’s a mental health diagnosis, a challenging life circumstance, life simply not feeling as easy as you once hoped it would be, difficulty making what you so deeply desire a reality, or personal growth you’re looking to jumpstart, you’ve just taken the first step on a remarkable journey. At Mindful CBT California, I am committed to helping you achieve the results you want.

Three core values guide my work as a therapist: Acceptance. Connection. Empowerment. In a nutshell, we will work collaboratively to find greater acceptance for those things outside of your control and empower you to take action over those things within your control.

Acceptance: Much of our suffering as humans comes from difficulty making peace with aspects of our life we may wish were different. Have you ever noticed how fighting things that you can’t control - whether that’s thoughts, how other people treat you, something you don’t like about yourself, the state of the world, or something else - makes them feel even worse? Learning how to live the best life you can, even when everything isn’t falling just right into place, is game-changing.
Connection: I am a partner on your team and, as such, will be there to work through things with you. Together, we can do so much more.
Empowerment: Life can feel defeating. I understand. I work with you to clarify what you want your life to look like - what’s important to you, what your goals are, how you want to live differently. I help you overcome the obstacles that have stopped you from getting there by using your time and energy more effectively to focus on what you do have power over!

I believe in combining different evidence-based therapies for a holistic approach to healing.

The core of my practice is built on the foundation of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): focuses on the relationship between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In this solution-oriented therapy, we will focus on your experience and emotions in the present moment as you develop tools to improve your mood, anxiety, and confidence. You will learn skills to identify and change distorted and unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving, ultimately changing your life experience.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): is a specific type of CBT that was designed and is the gold standard treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and other related disorders. ERP combines exposure therapy, which includes facing feared situations or thoughts in a safe, step-by-step manner, and response prevention, which is the resistance and elimination of compulsive behaviors or rituals. I use a four-layered approach to treating OCD, including cognitive therapy (to work on distorted thought patterns), mindfulness (tools to assist you in coping with distress and anxiety), exposure and response prevention (as the primary treatment component, helping you to overcome OCD), and values-based living (to achieve the meaningful life you desire).

Mindfulness: is an eastern philosophy that has become integral to the field of psychology in recent years. Mindfulness involves awareness of the present moment from a foundation of openness, curiosity, and non-judgment. When it comes to anxiety or distressing thoughts, we are primed as humans to resist or fight them, but we know that this only makes them even stronger and more persistent. You may have heard the quote before, “what you resist not only persists, but grows in strength,” and mindfulness skills will help you stay out of this dynamic which ultimately works against your goals.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): is a mindfulness-based therapy, focusing on finding greater acceptance of difficult life circumstances, reacting to them differently, and a committing to making changes in line with your specific goals and values.

Habit Reversal Training (HRT): is a behavioral therapy used for the treatment of body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB), including skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting. HRT combines increasing awareness of urges and triggers to engage in the behavior and replacing the BFRB with a competing response, which can be any other behavior in which you engage and find soothing (for example, using a stress ball, soothing touch, or doing a puzzle).