My Story

My heart’s greatest desire has always been freedom. Since I was a kid, I remember craving time and space, but also connection with others. I did not have the language at the time to recognize that I was a very sensitive soul who needed a lot of time to process and find my own voice. I enjoyed beautiful things and flourished in creative spaces. Unfortunately, so much of society and schooling taught me that my own voice and sensitivities had very little value unless it was to be more productive. I spent almost 20 years in a state of moderate disassociation. I had loving relationships, nourishing experiences, stellar achievements —but I always felt a little distant from some version of me residing on the inside.

Years of therapy helped, but always made me feel like there was something in me that had to be “fixed”. I learned a lot of skills and gained an understanding of my relational patterns, but I also felt like there was still a part of me that was lurking in the shadows, afraid to come out.

I believe strongly in this energy of emergence —that there is nothing wrong with us but rather there is something alive within us that wants to come out, to be seen, known, to have space to explore. Sometimes that aliveness presents itself as a tension —a stressful situation, a tension in the body, a real material harm in the world. Other times, aliveness is a curiosity —a draw towards something, a piece of art that lingers, a conversation that resurfaces that tells us that there is something more.

I have come to believe that the most important relationship we have in our lives in our relationship with ourself. This is the vessel that helps us understand what to do with what is emerging. At first, I thought this was selfish and ego-centric, but then realized that no matter what I did and whose opinions I sought, I needed to hear the voice within me to feel fully like myself in this world. To make decisions, navigate grief, discern actual harm from discomfort, and to be creative again. With this voice, I have been able to create and maintain connections and community that feel deeply nourishing.

I also learned that life is full of seasons. I am allowed to feel afraid, uncertain, content, excited, unmotivated, and a host of other emotions. Emotions are just data —and for the sensitive soul, that data is precious and powerful, not an impediment to growth.

What I can definitely say though, it was other people’s willingness to accompany me on this journey called life is what made all this wisdom possible. I needed to feel I was not alone. I thank all my teachers, mentors, therapists, friends, and family who have walked with me step by step.

My life’s work is to be a guide for humans just as humans guided me. We need each other. We need ourselves.

Offerings

• Guidance sessions
  • 60 minutes long. In person, phone, or zoom. $150. Some sliding scale spots may be available, just ask.

• Intuitive readings
  • 60 minutes long. Phone call. $150

• Sacred Emergence
  • 3 month container that includes live 60 minute sessions weekly along with voicenote / text support throughout the week. $2000 total. Payment plans available. Please contact me to set up a 20 minute free intro call for us to get to know one another first.

If you are in a mental health crisis and/or have thoughts of harming yourself or others, please reach out to a licensed mental health worker. Here are some resources that avoid the police and carceral systems: https://www.inclusivetherapists.com/crisis

Background and Training

My lived experience is perhaps my best training. In addition to that, I have the following credentials:

• Ph.D., UCLA —Human Development and Psychology

• Masters, Harvard University — Education with a Specialization in Language and Literacy

• Bachelors, Austin College — Political Science and Economics

• 2100 hours of supervised clinical experience as a Psychological Associate in California with a licensed psychodynamically-oriented psychologist

• Wild One Intuitive Training —Course from Pooja Bakhai, Founder of Lakshmi Sacred Arts

• Somatic Verbal Skills of Presence — Course by Jessica Garay, Creator of Moon Vibe Sanctuary (in progress)

I am a developmental psychologist who has extensive training and clinical work. A few years ago, I was a practicing therapist who mostly incorporated psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches. I decided to leave the licensed work behind to pursue a much more holistic approach that involves body-mind-spirit. Therefore, please note that this is not therapy and I work outside of the licensure of the California Board of Psychology.

If you are in a mental health crisis and/or have thoughts of harming yourself or others, please reach out to a licensed mental health worker. Here are some resources that avoid the police and carceral systems: https://www.inclusivetherapists.com/crisis

What guides me?

1. Every single person has power. Our power comes from something deep within, a deepness that tells us that we are alive and seeking aliveness.

2. Everything is relational.

3. The material world is real and has a large influence on our psyche. I believe in sovereignty. The sovereignty of your inner world is the most important place to start. The sovereignty of our outer, material world requires us to be attuned to seeing and responding to violations of sovereignty. Collectively, we have much power.

Writing

Substack

Towards a Psychology of Possibility-Making: Arab American Muslim Youth Practicing Legibility, Refusal, and Revolutionary Optimism (Ph.D. Dissertation)

Surfing On A Bush (Palestine in America)