Hi, I’m Katie.
I’m glad you’re here.

A little about me

Therapist, Former Teacher, Current Human

Before I was a therapist, I was an elementary school teacher. Before that, I was a student trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. And somewhere along the way, I became a wife, a working mom of three, a therapist, a chauffeur, a keeper of everyone’s schedules, and a person who is still very much figuring out the balance of all of it.

In other words, I know something about the beautiful mess of being a person.

I live many of the same tensions my clients do: caring deeply about the people I love, trying to make room for work that matters to me, navigating changing seasons of family life, and occasionally wondering how everyone else seems to remember when spirit week is.

I do not believe therapists need to have life perfectly figured out. I do believe we should know how to sit beside people with curiosity, humility, compassion, and enough steadiness to make room for whatever shows up.

My path here

From the Classroom to the Therapy Room

My path to becoming a therapist was not exactly linear, and I am grateful for that.

I spent five years teaching elementary school and hold both a California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and an Administrative Services Credential. My years in education gave me a deep appreciation for child development, family systems, the enormous pressure placed on kids and parents, and the fact that human beings rarely fit neatly into the boxes institutions create for them.

Eventually, I found my way to Santa Clara University, where I earned my master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, and into work that feels deeply aligned with who I am.

Today, I work with children, teens, adults, parents, and couples. I am Level 1 trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS), a member of WPATH, and continue to pursue training that deepens the way I work with attachment, relationships, trauma, and the many different ways people experience the world.

I am a big believer in continuing to learn. I am also a big believer that no amount of training replaces genuine human connection.

How I work

I Believe We Already Carry Something Worth Coming Home To

IFS has shaped not only the way I practice therapy, but the way I understand people.

I believe we all have parts of ourselves that learned to protect us: the anxious part, the perfectionist, the caretaker, the angry one, the part that wants everyone to like us, the one that shuts the whole system down when things become too much.

I am less interested in asking, “How do we get rid of this?” and much more interested in asking, “How did this make sense?”

Underneath those protective parts, I believe there is something steady in each of us. In IFS, we call this Self. I often think of it simply as home.

Therapy can help us build the capacity to find our way back there—to meet ourselves with more curiosity and compassion, to have more choice in how we respond to life, and to trust that we may already carry more of what we need than we realize.

My hope is that therapy feels like a place where you can put down the performance for a while. You do not need to impress me, say the right thing, or arrive as the most polished version of yourself.

Come as you are. We can start there.

Beyond my work

When I’m Not in the Therapy Room

When I’m not working, I’m usually with my family, reading, traveling, or finding an excuse to be somewhere near the water.

My time as a Peace Corps Volunteer shaped the way I see the world and gave me a lasting curiosity about people, culture, relationships, and the stories we all carry.

I love learning, asking questions, exploring new places, and laughing with the people I love. That curiosity and sense of humor are a big part of who I am, both in life and in the therapy room.