About Me
My Path into Healing
I studied psychology at UCLA, completing my Bachelor's degree in 1998, and initially imagined a future in Western medicine. During my internship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, however, I began to sense its limitations. I was learning to understand illness, yet I felt there was something missing — a deeper way of seeing the human being beyond symptoms and diagnoses.
That search led me toward Eastern medicine and philosophies of healing, where I encountered a profoundly different understanding of the body, health, consciousness, and the interconnectedness of life. Over the years, these teachings became ways of seeing: listening to the body, recognizing patterns, honoring cycles, and understanding healing as a return to wholeness.
I earned my master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at Emperor’s College and became a licensed acupuncturist in 2002, followed by studies with Daoist Master Jeffrey Yuen have been especially meaningful in deepening my understanding of Classical Chinese Medicine, which remains the foundation of my clinical work. Studies in Ayurveda and Tibetan medicine further enriched my appreciation for each person’s unique constitution and the role of daily life in supporting balance.
I am currently deepening my studies through Health, Illness & Human Development Through an Anthroposophic Perspective. This training explores the relationship between physical health, emotional life, spiritual development, and the unfolding stages of a human life. It is expanding the way I understand health and illness—not simply as conditions to be treated, but as experiences that may hold meaning within the larger journey of human development. Through anthroposophic and integrative medicine, I am exploring how we can meet the challenges of our time with greater depth, insight, and the possibility of renewal.
Some of my most important learning came through my own search for healing. Complex health challenges led me to look deeper and come to know myself more intimately. Further studies in psychology, approaches to trauma, and shamanic practices helped me explore unresolved experiences and protective patterns.
During this time, functional medicine testing revealed things about my gut health I hadn’t known to look for. The care was valuable and I wanted to offer it to my patients. I pursued extensive training in functional medicine, bringing lab testing and nutraceutical supplements into my practice alongside acupuncture and herbs.
I’m often asked where I studied and which teachers I’ve learned from, so I’ve gathered my education and specialized training on one page to make those details easy to find.
What I Bring to Our Work
My spiritual life has deepened through Sufi, Daoist, and Buddhist teachings. When questions of meaning, faith, or disconnection arise in our work, I draw on this wisdom to help each person find clarity, compassion, and connection with what sustains them.
Meditation and somatic movement are practices I turn to for my own well-being and share with my patients as ways to care for themselves beyond our sessions.
Being a Waldorf mother was an education of its own. Through my children’s school years, I encountered Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy, anthroposophy, which enriched my understanding of childhood, rhythm, imagination, and children’s changing needs as they grow. I am now deepening this learning through studies in anthroposophical medicine. These experiences also inform my mentorship, particularly in supporting mothers and family life.
In my healing practice and one-on-one mentorship, our work may focus on physical care, or on questions arising through motherhood, relationships, grief, faith, and change. I bring my training and lived experience while listening closely to understand what matters to you.
I see each person as inherently whole, even amid difficulty. Together, we build on your strengths wisdom, vitality already present, and explore practices that support lasting change and greater trust in yourself. At the heart of my work is a wish to help you reconnect with what gives your life meaning, listen to your calling, and remember why you are here.
If this feels like the kind of care and support you are looking for, I would be glad to meet you and explore how I might be of help, whether in person or online.
