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Hi, I'm Vanessa
(she/her)
I became a therapist because I think everyone deserves a non-judgmental place to be seen and heard as themselves, and I know how life-changing it was to find a place like that of my own.
After a decade of working one-on-one with clients, I've witnessed first-hand how expressive the soul can become when containment, care, and curiosity are offered reliably and compassionately.
This is the type of work where ups and downs and unknowns abound, but a therapeutic relationship that serves as an anchor can help you stay the course.
Outside of the therapy room, I'm usually taking photographs, painting, playing with clay at my local pottery studio, or curling up with a good film, my partner, and my sweet pup, Toby.
You're not broken or "missing something"
Turns out you're a part of a human race that doesn't teach young people the fundamentals of emotions, communication, conflict, attention, and attachment. That you're feeling stuck now indicates the need for new resources rather than your own irreparable failure, inadequacy, or unworthiness. It might be time to ask for help.
Carl Jung called suffering a great teacher.
I see my role as one that helps you unlock its hidden lessons, supports you back to a healing place, and invites you expand through inquiry, alchemy, and meaning-making.
Together, using our imaginations, curiosity, and individual strengths, we partake in a collaborative experience where you feel supported, cared for, and challenged to try something new.
How I Work
Using empathy, curiosity, and humor, I meet you where you are and create an environment aimed toward your safety. Apart from our first few sessions, in which I'll ask some questions to get us started, I rely on you to begin our sessions with whatever you're carrying that moment.
There's no wrong topic. Therapy content doesn't need to be itemized or prepared. In my experience, what needs to be talked about will find its way to be talked about, even if it's not what you thought needed to be talked about. Trust the process, and we'll work to energize your mindful curiosity over your urges to "get it right."
What I Value
The process of self-discovery is a beautiful one that allows your whole self to come into focus. Inviting in and healing the unconscious material behind your struggle can lead to long-lasting change.
Hidden within that unconscious material may be the realization that what informs you from within was created from without. The systems in which we develop and live -- families, schools, communities, careers, cultures -- can inform our values, self-worth, and experiences of safety out in the world. Coming to know the ways in which these systems conditioned you is a worthwhile therapeutic process so that you're not holding blame, shame, and inertia for that which was never yours in the first place.
Where I Learned
I've been a therapist and case manager in community mental health, residential treatment, and private practice settings. In these varied settings, I supported couples, adolescents, unhoused post-9/11 military veterans, and adult individuals struggling with mental health and daily stress alike.
I received my master's degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and later received an advanced certificate in applied mythology.
Therapy is my second career, and it's still hard to believe I've been practicing for over a decade. Before studying psychology, I got a BBA in business management from Hofstra University in New York, where I was born and raised. I loved working digital marketing and music editorial jobs in New York City, but found therapy (and Los Angeles) to be a better home. However, this experience helps me understand the stressors of clients working in the corporate world.
"Set within the seed of the soul is not just a fleeting image or a vague pattern but a lifelong story enfolded within, waiting to be cracked open and lived all the way out."
Michael Meade
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