Welcome

Hi, I'm Christy, licensed counselor & therapist. My path to psychotherapy started as an active, creative child — running was my meditation and visual art was my therapy. When I was 9 years old, I went to counseling myself, after a sudden loss in my family. I wrote a book about loss (pictured below), with the final line: But there is one thing that lasts forever, and that is LOVE. I knew that truth as a child and have had to work my way back to it, again and again, as an adult.

As a young adult, my commitment to healing and helping others deepened: volunteering at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic, teaching art at the Boys & Girls Club in Raleigh, NC, and coaching a girls running and social skills group, Girls on the Run. Looking back, I was destined to become a psychotherapist.

In my practice today, I emphasize personal agency and relational interdependence. I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all systems or rigid procedures. Instead, I collaborate with you to create a therapeutic space that honors your unique experience—your needs, your strengths, and your goals.

My approach is relational, behavioral, and creative:

• Your brain unlocks the functionality required for change only in the presence of safety—an inviting and supportive relationship.

• By observing behaviors and becoming curious about them, you can find new ways to grow and change.

• Through creative expression, you can accept and solidify growth, transplanting new behaviors and characteristics without running the risk of rejecting or forgetting them.

If you're interested in exploring what our collaboration could look like, I invite you to contact me. I look forward to working with you.

What I offer

Creative, warm, solution-focused.

Individual & Couples Therapy

My approach is warm, collaborative, and direct. I combine creative tools with relational and behavioral methods to help you ease anxiety, manage stress, and create meaningful change. In couples therapy, I help partners break cycles of conflict, heal wounds, and reconnect. I support couples dealing problems of all shapes and sizes. Even if therapy hasn't worked before, my gentle-but-direct approach may help you get unstuck.

Couples Intensives

I dream of regularly offering couples therapy sessions in a longer format, virtually or in- person in Petaluma, CA, and incorporating art into the therapy process. "Relationship Reset" will be 8 hours over 2 days, to repair your relationship on the brink of disaster. "Couples Creative Reflection" will be a 1-day offering to reflect on and strengthen your relationship, based on my own journey in a long-term partnership, and how helpful we found an annual "date" for reflecting and making a collage together. Please contact me if this resonates with your needs.

A lifetime of caring & creating

Education & Experience

California Institute of Integral Studies

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, Expressive Arts Therapy, 2013-2016

North Carolina State University

Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, 2007-2010

Bachelor of Arts Spanish Language & Literature, 2007-2010

Education

Licenses & Ongoing Training

Key Experience

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist 111261

2019, California Board of Behavioral Sciences

Professional Medical Interpreter Certificate

2010, Duke University - Bridging the Gap Program

I continue to deepen and refine my skills through ongoing consultation and mentorship in Motivational Interviewing, Couples Therapy, and Expressive Arts Therapy

Sonoma County Behavioral Health

Health Program Manager, Youth & Family Services, 2023-2025

BH Clinical Specialist, Youth & Family Services, 2022-2023

Behavioral Health Clinician, Adult Services, 2020-2022

Family Paths, Inc

Bilingual Therapist, Medi-cal field-based program, 2016-2020

Bilingual Therapist Trainee, clinic program, 2015-2016

Book a consult

If you’re interested in exploring therapy or coaching with me, I invite you to contact me for a complimentary 15-minute consultation or use my calendar below.