Hi there, I’m glad you made it here – reaching out is hard, and this is the first step. My name is Kim, and I’m an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist helping individuals, couples, and families cultivate better relationships with themselves and with each other. I believe that humans begin to thrive when we are in safe and meaningful connection with others. Because of this, my work with clients is person-centered and rooted in liberation psychology and bodily autonomy. I work in an integrative way, weaving together wisdom from the Psychodynamic tradition and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy with skills from Nonviolent Communication and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. What all that means in practical terms is that I trust that you are the expert of your own experience and we will decide together the pacing and the modalities that will best serve you.

Couple and Family Therapy

The quality of our relationships can deeply impact the quality of our lives. Whether it is grief, betrayal, trauma, or accumulated miscommunications and misunderstandings, a frayed relationship with the people that we hold most dear can be some of the deepest pain that a person can experience. When I work with couples and families, we look at the fundamental feelings and needs that undergird arguments and persistent miscommunications so that couples and family members can find each other again. Identifying emotions and needs and practicing honestly and vulnerably communicating those needs to the people we love builds the foundation of understanding from which a more gratifying relationship can emerge. Practicing the skills of identifying our feelings and asking for what we need in session leads to both a better understanding of self, and a more wholesome understanding of the other person. This in turn, can lead to the more peaceful and nuanced ways of relating that we crave. 

Background

I have a Bachelor’s degree in English from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Dominican University of California. I have worked with grief, ambiguous loss, domestic violence, sexual trauma, complex trauma, substance abuse, and of course, relationship difficulties. A large part of my work has focused around providing neurodivergent affirming care to people who have been late diagnosed, or who did not receive such care growing up. In addition, I have been a yoga teacher for 10 years and draw from that experience in my work as a therapist. I use somatic exploration to help clients begin to understand experiences that may be beyond words, as well as to strengthen the mindbody connection. In addition, I use my extensive background in teaching mindfulness techniques to help my clients better tend to their nervous systems. I am passionate about adapting grounding exercises so that they actually work for people who have not benefited from traditional meditation and mindfulness. Every person and every nervous system is different, and I am committed to working with my clients to figure out what works for them, so that they can find safety in their bodies.

I can be reached directly at kimpiatherapy@gmail.com or by calling 707-861-0194