About Alyssum - Home

I hold to the belief that all people have the potential to achieve their goals as well as gain the health and growth outcomes they desire.

As a practitioner and therapist, my role is to support the unique process of each client's self actualization. I believe my authenticity, empathy and non-judgment with my clients are key in forging a collaborative therapeutic relationship based on mutual trust and respect.

I am comfortable supporting individuals and people seeking relationship counseling from a varied age range, sexual orientation and genders as well as diverse ethic and cultural backgrounds. I feel passionate about supporting people from groups that have been marginalized in Western society.

My extensive experience in bereavement counseling at Hospice by the Bay has honed skills to support people coping with profound grief and loss, depression, anxiety, stress, life transitions, family conflict, aging, identity, spiritual exploration, etc.

Through this work, as well as my own experience with loss, I am able to provide a supportive container for clients to address not only grief but also the existential anxiety that can be linked to the human condition.

Training in behavior modification at Mayo Clinic and paraprofessional work as a tobacco cessation counselor informs my work with clients addressing addiction or who desire behavior change.

Working at YWCA, an agency that offers support for adults and children impacted by intimate partner violence and abuse, has given me training necessary to work clients seeking to recover from trauma, intimate partner violence, abuse and a clinical understanding of the impact of low socio-economic status on mental health.

I use a Jungian-based technique called Life Seed Counseling (MBTI related) to aid clients interested in exploring career-development, relationship building and life purpose. Additionally, I incorporate Motivational Interviewing, Somatic and Mindfulness techniques into work with clients.