Individual Therapy

Traditional and Non-Traditional Elements

The Relationship

My primary work is within the therapist-client relationship. Relational patterns- the ways we’re accustomed to loving and being loved- will show up within the therapy. I work with these patterns, helping to illuminate the old ways while bringing new choices to light.  

Meditation- Body and Mind

I also work with the body and mind. Sometimes talking about our problems is not enough. We can get stuck continually re-hashing habitual thoughts and beliefs.  Meditative practices and body awareness can get us beyond anxiety or mental chatter, helping us to find insight and deeper knowing. 

Being Human

We all grapple with understanding our deeper place in life, our purpose, our relationship to life and death, and the deeper meaning behind the stories of our lives. I am interested in exploring how we make meaning of our lives. How do we change, grow and adapt our stories over time? How do we relate to being alive, to being human, to being part of a culture, gender, race, or tribe? How do we find our place within the greater stories?

Identity

We meet each other, not in an ideal realm, but within intersections of identity and lived experience. These intersections are meaningful. As a bi-racial Japanese/Asian-American woman, I understand that we can all struggle to understand ourselves and that we all look for meaning in our personal stories, our identities and our ways of being. So often we are also having to reclaim ourselves in response to a society that views so many of us in limited and harmful ways.

I am deeply committed to working within these intersections of identity and strive to understand my clients on multiple levels- individually, culturally, racially and relationally.

Ways to Grow

These different modes of therapy allow us to be present, available for relationships, and open to what is genuine and vital within ourselves.