Experience, specialties, and clinical interests

Before my private practice career, I provided years of direct counseling services at community mental health agencies in the East Bay, supporting children, adolescents, and their families who are part of Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems.

In addition to direct clinical services, I frequently facilitated Motivational Interviewing and Developmental Trauma training workshops at various community mental health agencies, such as A Better Way, Union City Youth and Family Services, Lincoln Families, and Fred Finch.

Besides anxiety, depression, anger management, parenting struggles, low self-esteem, and difficulties in self-regulation of the nervous system, I also worked in the areas of substance abuse, community violence, prevention and intervention, social justice, issues related to microaggressions towards oppressed and underserved populations, multigenerational issues, human trafficking, and child abuse. 

Due to my special interest and personal direct and/or indirect experience, I am most passionate about supporting people related to the following issues:

  • Anxiety

  • Bipolar & Other Mood Disorders

  • Depression

  • Divorce & Separation

  • Family Conflict

  • Grief & Loss of any kind

  • Special challenges impacting Mental Health Professionals

  • Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

  • Pre-Marital & Marital Issues

  • Conflict with parents & caregivers, current or historical

  • Estrangement

  • Relationships

  • Self-Esteem & Confidence

  • Stress/Stress Management

  • Suicidal Ideation

  • Suicide Loss

  • Complex Trauma & PTSD

  • Women's Issues

  • Changing Career later in life

  • Specific challenges impacting stay-at-home caregivers 

  • Going back to work after staying home and raising children for many years

Treatment Approaches

Although I would consider myself an eclectic therapist combining many different therapeutic models, I am most resonated with the following treatment modalities:

  • Trauma-Informed Therapy

  • Attachment-Based Therapy

  • Neurofeedback

  • EMDR

  • Culturally Sensitive

  • Multicultural

  • Motivational Interviewing

  • Person-Centered

  • Strength-Based

  • Bibliotherapy

  • Existential

  • Interpersonal

  • Psychodynamic Therapy

  • Play Therapy & Sandtray

I use many creative and experiential tools to support my clients work towards their treatment goals, such as:

  • Art Therapy Techniques

  • Music

  • Literature (Bibliotherapy) 

  • Movement

I also heavily base my work on the following approaches to therapy on a case base case and as-needed basis

  • Somatic work

  • Mindfulness

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

Clinical and Professional Background & Training

Current Roles:

  • Therapist in Private Practice since 2016: Providing individual, couple, family, group and family therapy services to the members of the East Bay communities who would like to make changes in their lives, struggling with effects of developmental trauma, mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders. 

  • Neurofeedback Practitioner since 2020: Supporting my clients to get faster and usually more lasting results, by incorporating a way more direct “communication” with their brains, helping them to make more efficient neural pathways in their brains with the help of real time brain feedback technology. Also supporting other clinicians’ clients at times, as an adjunct treatment approach.

  • Clinical Supervisor of Associate Marriage and Family Therapists since 2019: Training and supervising postgraduate students on a weekly basis, while they are finishing the necessary categories in mental health services for a total of 3000 hours before they are able to sit down for their licensing exam, per the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) regulations for mental health professionals.

  • East Bay Therapist Community (EBTC), Founder, since 2023: Creating and supporting the therapist community in the East Bay, providing a social hub for connections, support, referrals and resources, hosting or organizing free events for trainings on a volunteer basis.

  • A Home Within, Volunteer Therapist, since 2022: Providing Probono therapy services through a non-profit organization called A Home Within, which provides free services for people who have been a part of the foster care system at any point in their lives.

Former Roles:

  • Bay Area Psychotherapy Institute (BAPTI), Program Director, Supervisor, BAPTI board member, BAPTI Continued Education Coordinator: Oversaw the human resources functions of the BAPTI clinical program as well as the development and coordination of BAPTI’s programmatic outreach and fundraising activities. Coordinated Continued Education (CE) Training events for mental health professionals.

  • A Better Way, Berkeley, Community Based Mental Health Therapist/Intensive Care Coordinator (ICC, Katie A Coordinator): Provided individual and dyadic trauma-informed treatment services to families involved in the Child Welfare System, with children ages 7 to 20, in community, school, and clinic settings. Helped clients to improve their self-regulation, relationship, sensory integration, and cognitive skills, to gain insight, discover and activate their own strengths and resiliency, to improve and develop their coping and social skills, and to problem solve through interventions from variety of counseling theories, including trauma-informed framework of ARC (Attachment-Regulation-Competency) Model. 

Provided training to coworkers on using Motivational Interviewing with the system involved families and presented cases on case consultations and training sessions with a variety of experts on effects of Developmental Trauma, including Dr. Bruce Perry. Utilized NMT (Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics) reports to guide the treatment process by identifying essential focus areas based on trauma history and functioning assessments. Facilitated Child Family Team (CFT) meetings as Intensive Care Coordinator (ICC) to empower clients and families in foster care system, to increase natural support, as well as to assist multiple service providers working as a united team to optimize support for Child Welfare System involved families.

  • City of Union City Youth and Family Services, Counselor/Case Manager/Referral Coordinator: Provided individual, family, couple, and group counseling services to underserved populations, ages 9 to 20, as well as adults in the community, at school and clinic settings. Assisted in Parent Project, a parenting class for parents of at-risk youth, and participated in bi-weekly trainings provided by the agency, the school district, and partnering agencies. After two years of internship, has been hired as Case Manager/ Referral Coordinator in addition to clinician duties, to connect the youth and families with services as well as to assist them to have a plan to graduate and to be dismissed from probation. Additionally, was responsible for coordinating counseling referrals by following up with referral sources, managing the waitlist, and conducting intakes/assessments. Provided trainings for interns and staff on a variety of topics, including using Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS) and Motivational Interviewing. Attended agency presentation to Union City Human Resources Commission reporting as a guest speaker.

  • Association of Play Therapy San Francisco Chapter, Chapter Secretary: Assisted the Chapter with the local outreach, training, and networking events.

  • Parent education events organizer at a local elementary school as the PTA Parent Education Lead Chair. California State University East Bay, Graduate Assistant: Assistant to the professor for Microcounseling class for two quarters, facilitated practice and discussion sessions for first year MFT graduate students, and provided feedback.

  • Valley Parent Preschool, Danville, Participating Parent: Interacted with children ages 2.5 to 5 at a cooperative preschool setting, While my own two children attended the class at the same time, monitored their activities, helped them to interact, improve their social skills, and problem solve through both role modeling and positive discipline strategies. Participated in task groups for school fundraising projects, using advanced Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, research, and communication skills.

  • Studio Grow, Concord and Danville locations, Weekend Manager: Interacted with parents and children (0 - 6 years old) at an educational indoor play space, facilitated activities, maintained the play area, and performed front desk duties.

  • Mount Diablo Adult Education Center, Loma Vista Preschool, VP Outreach Chair of PTA and Participating Parent: Attended PTA meetings monthly, coordinated various outreach activities. Assisted the teachers in classrooms, facilitated activities, monitored, and played with children ages 2 to 4, helped them to overcome separation issues, and to improve their language skills through talking, reading, listening, and dictating their stories. Attended numerous parent education seminars.

  • Various Local Mothers Clubs, East Bay, Steering Committee Positions (Design Editor, Columnist, Proofreader, Advertisement Coordinator): Designed 24 pages monthly newsletter on Publisher, provided articles for the newsletter, proofread for various club publications, and coordinated advertisements, 6 months at each position.

  • Women’s Daytime Drop-in Center, Bridget House, Berkeley, Play Supervisor: Interacted with the toddlers of the house on a weekly basis for 6 months while their mothers, who are homeless as a result of domestic violence and/or addictions are in their weekly group therapy meeting.

  • Friends of Anatolia, Research and Evaluation Committee Chair: Analyzed the committee structure and the effectiveness of the organization, evaluated the school renovation projects. Received Friends of Anatolia Exceptional Volunteer Award, 2005

  • Santa Rosa Homeless Shelter, Food Server: Helped with the food service on a weekly basis for 2 years.

  • Earlier career as Environmental Engineer, in CA and Turkey, designing city water storage structures and wastewater treatment plants.

Workshops Provided:

I provided numerous workshops on the following topics at a variety of mental health organizations in the East Bay:

  • Understanding the Effects of Developmental/Complex Trauma

  • Tailoring Interventions based on Trauma History

  • Motivational Interviewing to accelerate change

  • Multicultural Parenting Issues

  • Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOM) – Using Outcome and Session Rating Scales to monitor effectiveness of therapy

  • Creative & Experiential Clinical Interventions