About

A little about me, I grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, while immersed in a Lithuanian community. Understanding people through a multicultural lens, trying new foods, and exploring different cultures has been a passion of mine since I was young. I'm a big plant person, love tea (and coffee!), and on the weekends you can find me somewhere in nature.

I absolutely love being a therapist and have learned through the experiences in my community and in my personal life that humans are incredibly resilient. This belief is one of the tenets that guides my practice: that you can reconnect to your strengths and heal, even when things may feel overwhelming. Witnessing how incredibly resilient people are propelled me to begin my studies in Psychology, the human mind and body, and my interest in working with trauma, relationships, and mental health.

The Process

In our process together, I use our relationship in the room to understand the way you relate to others. I aim to support you in breaking unhelpful patterns and being authentically yourself while creating deeper connections. I center my work on understanding your life experiences, promoting a safe space for you to explore yourself and your deepest thoughts, feelings, longings, and wishes. I teach you calming tools for a deeper sense of grounding and empower you to move past the effects of trauma and other mental health struggles.

I believe that understanding and being able to soothe our bodies helps us move through traumatic experiences, reduces anxiety and depression, and improves self-understanding. I have also been multiculturally trained to explore how your intersectionality (age, gender, identity, race, ethnicity, ability, etc.) may play a part in your struggles and the stress you may experience.

This only scratches the surface of what our work will look like in practice.

My Style

As a therapist, I am gentle, authentic, straightforward, and highly respectful of your experience and your personal journey. I am very organic and love humor and engagement. I believe you are the expert in yourself, and I collaborate with you through every step to create a plan that is unique to you, your culture, your background, and your life experiences.

My couples and families tell me I am very neutral, and I agree. My job is never to point fingers but to understand your inner experiences and explore how patterns of moving away from each other show up and repeat in your relationship. Couple's work is truly one of my greatest passions!

Overall, I use a holistic mind and body approach and borrow from different theoretical orientations, such as relational psychodynamics, attachment theory, CBT, emotionally-focused couples therapy, the Gottman method, and somatic approaches.

I work with clients of any sexual orientation, and I'm sex-positive! I also have a passion and experience offering gender-affirming, LGBTQ+ care,

and enjoy working with different relationship configurations such as couples, polyamory, and consensual non-monogamy.

If you feel that we are a good fit, feel free to and let's chat!

I offer a free 20-minute consultation so we can get to know each other a bit more before choosing to start therapy.

reach out here

Education and Experience

I earned a Bachelor's in Psychology from Florida Atlantic University, a Master's of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis on Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling from Palo Alto University. I am a Certified Trauma Professional and a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) and the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA).

I worked for more than ten years volunteering for different causes with different age groups and three years supporting neurodivergent children and families offering DIR/Floortime interventions. During my graduate work, I trained at Maple Counseling, providing relational psychodynamic therapy to a full caseload of adults and groups experiencing diverse mental health struggles with different cultural backgrounds and needs. At Maple, I also co-lead two process groups: Queer Space for LGBTQ+ folks and Creating Meaningful Relationships for a group of older adults. Currently, I work in a private practice in Hermosa Beach, CA treating couples and adults.

I have a passion for learning and I am always striving to continue my education, and explore the latest research and interventions to better serve my clients.