About Me
My approach to psychotherapy is holistic and depth-oriented. I help my clients to look inwards and go deeper within themselves to find the answers and the healing they are seeking. I find that many people’s present-day pain-points and challenges are often rooted in past unprocessed emotions, psychological wounds, traumas, and unmet needs. Deep healing is possible by looking inside, finding where these injuries are held, and healing the lost, neglected or wounded parts of the self.
My work is based on an understanding that what we are consciously aware of only scratches the surface of who we are and what is stored inside. It is informed by what I have learned through decades of personal and professional experience with meditation, somatic awareness practices, psychedelic and plant medicine healing, shamanism and buddhist psychology. Primary among these influences, is my relationship with the Amazonian plant medicine Ayahuasca, which has been a profound healer, guide, and teacher in my life.
Along with my Bay Area based psychotherapy practice, I am also a traditionally-trained Ayahuasquero and plant medicine facilitator. I have been facilitating psychedelic plant medicine ceremonies in diverse retreat settings around the world for the last 10 years. Currently I lead and facilitate ayahuasca retreats for gay and queer men at Reunion Experience in Costa Rica.
Biography
B.A. Latin American Studies - Columbia University
M.S. Clinical Psychology - San Francisco State University
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California (MFC #45429) since 2008
3 years as Clinician and Program Manager at UCSF Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute
3.5 years working as an on-site therapist at Salesforce
1 year at UCSF’s Translational Psychedelic Research Program as a psychedelic therapist in clinical trials studying the effects of psilocybin.
Meditation / Mindfulness / Vipassana - 20 years of practice with regular retreats ranging from 3 - 21 days
Traditional shamanic apprenticeship with Mestizo Vegetalista Don Alberto Torres Davila and 2 years working full-time as a facilitator at an ayahuasca retreat center in the Peruvian Amazon
10 years experience facilitating plant medicine ceremonies, leading retreats, and guiding people through intentional work with Ayahuasca, Psilocybin mushrooms and San Pedro in Peru, Costa Rica and the US.