Quick Stats
- Learning Journey: Multiple degrees from California State University, Fullerton.
- Therapeutic Odyssey: Transitioned from school-based therapy to residential mental health and substance abuse programs, eventually landing at Barn Life as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
- Therapy Approach: Blends Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Radical Acceptance techniques.
- Role at Barn Life: Empowers clients to reshape stories, emphasizing agency and emotional growth.
On My Bucket List
The idea of a bucket list has always bugged me a little. Why put the pressure of our own mortality on getting things we dream of doing done? Why not just do them anyway? But having said that, I definitely have a bunch of “someday” plans!
- Visit my friends in New Zealand
- Get more tattoos!
- Own a warehouse maker space
On My Bookshelf
- A good friend of mine recently published her first book and it’s currently on top of my to-read pile: “This Crimson Debt” by Rose Sinister
What Led Me to Barn Life
I earned my Associate’s Degree in Language Arts from Mt. San Antonio College in 2011. In 2015, I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Chicanx Studies, and in 2019 I completed my Master’s Degree in Counseling – both from California State University, Fullerton.
I began as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) Trainee working with kids from kindergarten through 5th grades in an elementary school setting while in graduate school. After I graduated, I moved on as an Associate MFT helping to run a residential mental health and substance abuse treatment program for teenagers while also working with adults in a residential substance abuse program in the cities of Orange and Tustin. Feeling like I needed to change things up, I came to Barn Life in the Fall of 2021. I took and passed my licensing exam in April of 2022 and have been working as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist ever since.
Although I tend to conceptualize clients through the framework of Narrative Therapy, I make use of quite a number of techniques in working with each person. I try to meet each person where they are and use the tools that work best for them. I lean pretty heavily into Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems informed therapy, and Radical Acceptance (DBT), while also bringing a lot of creativity and play into my work.
My Role at Barn Life
I tend to refer to myself as a copy-editor of sorts. It’s not my story we’re telling, it’s my clients’ – and they are the experts. My job is to help them find the fragments and run-on sentences and those pesky commas that are out of place so that in the end, they have a more cohesive story of themselves. I help clients re-center themselves in a place of agency and empowerment within their stories that also take account of the many contexts in which they exist. I go on the journey with them to get to know all their parts and help them to have a healthier relationship with their emotions.
What I Love Most About My Work at Barn Life?
We hear all the time from clients that Barn Life is a magical place, and it really is. Since being here, I’ve felt challenged to push myself as both a person and a therapist. The Barn allows and encourages this in all of us, staff and client alike, and that is an irreplaceable thing in a workplace.
What You Might Find Me Doing Outside of Barn Life
Does sleep count? I like to spend time with my wife and kids, play games (board games, card games, video games), and build things of all sorts, including LEGO sets.
I also love languages and I love to cook. At other points in my life, I even considered becoming a linguist or a chef. Both those things are a big part of my journey to being a therapist, and both influence who I am as a therapist and how I work to a much more significant degree than might be immediately apparent. Words matter and the community of hearth and home are vital to who we are as humans.
