My Healing Journey & Why I Became a Therapist

This photo was taken when I was 13, a few weeks before my life changed forever. 

I grew up in Santa Monica, California. My mom provided a secure and safe connection and was my role model with her compassionate, empathetic, graceful, warm, and confident presence. She introduced me to a love of beach rollerblading, tennis, reading, meditation, and prayer. I experienced love, connection, safety, joy, play, beauty, and freedom in childhood.

In addition to all of the childhood joy, I also lived through scary and traumatic experiences. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years before I was born and relapsed several times throughout my childhood. She cared for me, worked in a male-dominated career as a financial advisor, read Deepak Chopra texts and mystery novels, and sometimes went to chemotherapy.

My mom passed on when I was 13, and I was suddenly alone in the world. At the time, I believed this meant I needed to go through life alone, rely on myself, and be strict with myself. I went to boarding school and channeled my grief by academically achieving, doing community service work, and journaling.

Going to therapy in high school helped me start to see that other loving people can support me. My therapist helped me alter my inner harsh dialogue that told me how nothing I did was ever good enough into a kinder and gentler internal dialogue. I eventually shared that I was lonely, which I had thought was weak to share, but saying it aloud created a shift. I realized I was not a failure or weak if I leaned on others, and maybe I didn’t have to live the rest of my life alone, hyper-independent, and closed off from others. This enabled me to start to open my heart to others.

Attending the University of Santa Monica was incredibly healing by getting in touch with and releasing my emotional grief that I had kept contained somewhere deep inside and by re-learning vulnerability as I honestly shared my story and was received by the most loving and non-judgmental facilitators. By numbing the grief, I had also blocked myself from experiencing the warmth of my heart. I felt such freedom after releasing my grief and limiting beliefs about myself and my experiences and then flooding my being with the utmost compassion to experience heart-filled joy and peace. 

Through my Spiritual Psychology studies, therapy, coaching, and yoga, I have learned to trust loved ones, appreciate connections, and treat myself lovingly. Treating myself with respect and self-nurturing comes naturally now. I share all of this with you because I am a strong proponent of doing my inner work to serve clients. I am a proponent of continuing to do healing practices and grow throughout my life. I have turned my life challenges into opportunities to heal and to help others.