I believe that people are innate problem-solvers. However, in order to solve problems successfully, we need three key ingredients: information, capacity, and skills. People often tell me they have a sense of what to do but struggle to implement those solutions for reasons they don’t fully understand. Ideally, therapy isn’t about solving the problem for you; it’s about exploring the problem with you. Most importantly, therapy is about honing your ability to develop your methods to get skills.

I like to describe my therapeutic stance as being an editor of the story you’re writing — they’re your words and it’s your story, but one can get lost in how to be an effective storyteller. A good editor serves as a guide to help you, the author, produce your best work.

As an immigrant, a woman of color, a person who is able-bodied and educated, the study of differences between people and play between being being both majority and minority always interested me. I didn't know the word intersectionality prior to studying psychology, but I realized that I had been studying it all throughout my life.

I love to read when I can find the time. There's something magical about stories and getting transported into another world/time/experience. I love walks and hikes that can either be slow and meandering, or physically challenging. Trees hold a funny fascination for me even though I only know the difference between a deciduous and an evergreen!

Watching a movie, a cooking show, or working out - the analytical part of my brain goes into the background and I can really be present yet check out at the same time.