I do not take the word "crisis" lightly. I deeply understand the impact that a mental health crisis or trauma can have on a child and family. My life's passion is to provide support to children and families in their darkest moments, when everyone else has said it's "too much," or "too intense," or that they don't know what to do. If I am your last stop, my hope is that your search to be seen and heard can end with me.
I am a Board-Certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW#69868) in Oakland, CA, with over a decade of expertise in both therapy and running crisis programs within the mental health field. I started my career in Washington D.C. as a counselor at a group home for adolescents in the juvenile justice and social service systems. My residential work inspired me to get my Master’s in Social Work at the University of Chicago. In Chicago, I was a middle school and then foster care therapist. After graduating, I moved back home to the Bay Area and became a therapist and case manager for youth and families involved in the juvenile justice system. After becoming the manager of that intensive Wraparound program, I transitioned into overseeing two crisis group homes and a nonpublic school for youth with Autism and developmental disabilities. From there, I transitioned into adult mental health, directing seven crisis residential mental health and medical respite facilities across the Bay Area.
If you are at your wit's end and don't know what the next step in treatment should be - that's where I come in. Whether it's guiding you through a complex mental health system, or providing therapy to stabilize a crisis so that you qualify for more widely-available services, let me do some of the legwork for you. This load can be really heavy; I'm here to carry it with you.