Welcome.
I’m Lia (she/her), a straight, white, cis, able-bodied, straight-sized woman. I am a parent, spouse, sibling, and licensed psychotherapist. I welcome diversity of all kinds, and I am glad you’re here. When you meet with me, expect to find me totally authentic. I am a real person in the therapy room, not just a blank slate.
I want to work with people who want to put in the work, who want to understand their patterns and change. We will laugh and cry. My goal is to help you learn to communicate your feelings and needs and experience pride in yourself. There is nothing we can’t talk about. This process takes time, I will walk alongside you and your partner and gently push you forward at times because this work is SO hard. And, I believe you can do this.
I have been a consumer of therapy myself, both individual and couple. Therapy has been instrumental in accessing my own self-compassion and ability to stay with my own and my partner’s emotional experiences. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of this work.
I have over a decade of clinical experience working with individuals, couples, and groups, as well as supervising student therapists to reach their fullest professional potential. I have a private practice in Seattle and provide virtual therapy for Washington and California residents.
My Beliefs
Emotions are what make us human. I help high achievers connect with their emotions in a way that fuels vitality, resilience, and authenticity.
The suffering that results from trauma, neglect, loss, or oppression can force us to experience our emotions as overwhelming, too painful, and too terrifying to bear.
In order to cope, we bury our true feelings under competent-looking facades and engage in repetitious patterns, which only increase frustration, stuckness, and alienation. When we do this, we ignore or push away experiences that inadvertently continue to undermine us and our relationships.
This is a recipe for anxiety, depression, and relationship distress.
My Therapeutic Approach
At the core, therapy is a collaborative process, requiring effort and hard work from both of us.
I am a “relational” therapist, which means that together, we create a supportive and empowering space to process and navigate through difficult emotions and hard or harrowing events. It is essential to have a supportive, caring, and experienced ally to accompany you through the process of healing and reconnection.
I am also an “experiential” therapist, which means that there is a world of difference between “talking” about your emotions and connecting (bodily) with feelings. The latter, I believe, is the fastest route to emotional connection.
I use evidence-based principles to guide the therapeutic work that I do in order to help my clients reach their goals. I have a warm yet direct style when working with clients, and my approach fits each client specifically. This includes honoring and respecting one’s racial, gender, socio-economic, sexual orientation, religious and spiritual life, family and personal history, and other identities.
At any time, you can provide feedback, ask questions about the therapy process, revisit our goals, and make changes. I always encourage you to raise any concerns you have about how therapy is working and ask any questions that will help you understand how I work. I also encourage all clients to evaluate carefully whether they feel comfortable working with me since therapy involves a commitment of time, money, and energy.
“Ring the bells that still can ring; forget your perfect offering; there is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.”
Leonard Cohen.
My Education
I received my undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, where I focused on community mental health treatment. I have advanced training in Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (Level II AEDP practitioner in regular supervision and consultation). I have extensive training in trauma treatment, and the way I work is always attachment based/trauma-informed. I am passionate about working from a social justice lens and consider this a foundational aspect of my work. Therapy, to me, is political – a radical act of core self-liberation, which in turn liberates others.
Originally from San Francisco, I moved to Seattle in 2018. When I’m not working, I’m spending time with my toddler, family, and friends, enjoying good food, the 49ers, camping, dancing, drawing, or watching comedy, movies, and shows.
Location and Contact Information
While I have an office located in Seattle, Washington, all my therapy appointments are virtual. If you are a new client, please schedule a free consultation to get started.
Schedule Your Free Consultation With Lia
Schedule a free 20-30 minute consultation call to determine if we are a good fit for each other.
