About me
Facing Blended Family and Relationship Challenges?
If one of these situations sounds familiar, you’re not alone:
- Communication Challenges: You’re in a loving relationship but find yourselves stuck in repetitive, unresolved arguments.
- Stepparent Complexities: You’ve embraced a partner with children and envisioned a harmonious blended family, but you’re feeling left out, as if you don’t belong.
- Struggles as a Biological Parent: You hoped your partner would connect with your children, but conflicts keep arising, leaving you feeling torn.
These are common experiences in blended families, often leading to feelings of guilt, sadness, and frustration.
You don’t have to face these challenges alone.
I’ve walked the path of a stepparent myself, and understand the challenges of building a family from the ground up and feeling like you’ve signed up for more than you bargained for.
My Approach
My personal experience of a stepparent navigating the hurdles without information, inspired me to become a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. My journey includes graduating from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA, with a Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology and working with children and their families at the Santa Clara Unified School District for five years.
Realizing that couples and their attachments were the key to making children’s lives better; I pursued extensive training with couples using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to address attachment issues and create secure, lasting connections in relationships.
The Blended Blueprint
All the surrounding issues that make blended families complicated:
- life developmental stages
- communication and parenting differences
- how to reshape a home from first-family functioning to blended family functioning
- how your family of origin may play into your relationships in the household.
- 8 stages of blended family development
- the amount of time it actually takes to blend family, or issues that stunt its growth.
My mission is to help blended families and couples strengthen their bonds and create peaceful, resilient homes.
How we will work together
Drawing from over 3000 hours of supervised training and over four years of dedicated study, I bring a unique blend of professional expertise and personal experience to our work together. I have a deep understanding of the joys and challenges of blended families, and offer a compassionate approach where you’ll feel understood and heard. I’ve helped countless families navigate the complexities of relating, offering practical strategies and emotional support. Whether you’re seeking guidance on blended family dynamics, stepparenting, or your relationship, I’ll help empower you to create a brighter future for your family.
Here are some realities of blended families:
- No you’re not crazy, blended family life is confusing.
- And stressful (three times more at the start).
- Yes, it is hard. Actually, it’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, and it is do-able!
- Yes, you can feel like an outsider, but trust you’ll find where you fit in.
- Marrying a widower/widow? Learn to develop sound couple boundaries to protect your relationship from “helpful” friend and family judgements.
- Stepparents feel “I didn’t sign up for this!”
- Yes, it’s normal to not love your step kids right away, and some relationships may never take root, and a family can still grow together.
Ways I can support you
Blended Family Courses
Support, clarity and connection for your blended family journey… without the waitlist
Couple's Therapy
Learn about the underlying dynamics in your relationship to foster better communication and connection.
A Bit About Me
- I’m a stepmom to twin boys, a bio-mom to our daughter, and a dog mom to a Yorkshire Terrier named Teakie.
- Every Halloween, my family (including Teakie) dresses in themed costumes.
- I enjoy California chardonnays, lifting weights, hiking, swimming, and Stranger Things.
- My previous career included working as a corporate flight attendant for a Hollywood producer.
Boring but important
Professional Organizations:
American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT)
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
ICEEFT – International Center of Excellence for Emotionally Focused Therapy
NCCEFT – Northern California Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy