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Together, my clients and I work in collaboration to explore the ways life has become unmanageable and learn how to utilize their strengths to untangle that web. My personal therapy style combines solution-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing-EMDR. I have been working as a mental health professional since 2013 and am a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC#6250) in the state of California. I have spent 7+ years working in the non-profit sector, first with child survivors of human sex trafficking and then with families of youth that are at-risk for entering the juvenile justice system. Through these experiences, I had the privilege of working with many young mothers as they navigated the peripartum experience with limited resources. I continued my work as a clinical supervisor in the public sector and as a faculty member at Point Loma Nazarene University to teach and support students as they enter the mental health field. In my current clinical practice, I specialize in treating perinatal individuals and their partners, with an emphasis on first time parents, parents with a history of personal or family addiction, and couples experiencing difficulty with communication during the transitions of parenthood.
My own journey through motherhood and experiences with postpartum anxiety sparked a passion for focusing my clinical practice on women and couples entering parenthood. I found that each person's postpartum experience comes with a different set of challenges. Gathering data from a book is helpful, but processing your unique experiences and changing identities is essential to developing stability as a parent and within your partnership. My main goal is to support individuals and couples as they navigate the complexities of parenthood, from infertility and conception to pregnancy and birth and finally into the postpartum period and early parenthood. I have received specialty advanced training in perinatal mental health care through Postpartum Support International.
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor / Boston University 2014
White
White culture
English
Christianity, Judaism
None listed
Nothing to see here :)
Virtual and In Person
Anxiety, Life transitions, Parenting, Self esteem/self worth, Postpartum depression
Addiction, Abuse, Depression, Pregnancy and/or infant loss, Panic attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Stress, Substance misuse/dependency, Trauma
Humorous, Empowering, Direct, Inquisitive
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), EMDR, Enneagram, Gottman method, Solution-focused brief therapy, Trauma-focused, Strength-based therapy
Nothing to see here :)
$195
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Individual Session
$195
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Couples Session
$195
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Family Session
Does not offer sliding scale spots
Tessa creates a therapeutic space that is both safe and productive! She takes the time to truly know her clients and brings insightful therapeutic interventions to support her clients in reaching their specific goals. I'd trust her care with my closest friends and family.
Tessa genuinely cares about people and honors them in whatever way they show up. She works with them by taking into account their lived and living experience. She does a lot of reflection to stay true to her work and clients. She’s also silly which can make therapy easier at the start for someone new to therapy.
Tessa's warm nature will help you feel at ease throughout the whole process. She will provide you with information so you have a better understanding and can take an active role in your own treatment. Tessa will be with you and support you without judgement or asserting her own will above yours.
