“To know the self is to allow everything, to embrace the totality of who we are—all that we think and feel, all that we fear, all that we love.”
― Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds
Welcome.
I’m Chelsea... & I’m here to walk alongside you through DIFFICULT times.
My approach to psychotherapy might be different from what you’ve previously encountered.
I am committed to work that is anti-racist, decolonial, and both neurodiversity and LGBTQI+ affirming — and I am experienced with navigating the impacts of ableism, sexism, racism, capitalism, heteronormativity, and neuronormativity on mental health.
Our work together will be collaborative — and will go beyond symptom relief, exploring practices for individual empowerment that also support collective change.
I’m interested in working with people who are reclaiming their voice and strength. I support whole families impacted by stress, trauma, and injustice; women and teens navigating difficult transitions; and people of all ages and genders experiencing depression, anxiety, grief and loss.
I hope you’ll feel welcome to reach out for a free consultation. You can read more about my approach here.
My work is rooted in many decades of contemplative practice and draws on a broad variety of psychological theory and research.
As an Adjunct Professor with the Integral Counseling Psychology program at California Institute of Integral Studies, I’m committed to ongoing study, the evolution of my clinical praxis, and supporting others coming forward in this work.
I believe that each of us is resilient, capable, and already whole — and that through seeing with compassionate eyes, we can taste the truth of this wholeness.
background
My journey into psychotherapy began more than thirty years ago with an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies and a deep interest in Buddhist Psychology. I am lay-ordained in both the Soto Zen lineage of Suzuki Roshi and in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2018, I served as shuso (head monk) for Dharma Heart Zen, a Branching Streams affiliate under the direction of Hoka Chris Fortin, allowing me to begin teaching and supporting others within this lineage.
For more than fifteen years, I have supported the Youth & Family Program at San Francisco Zen Center, first as a participant, and for the last decade, as the steward of the program, developing content and bringing families together in practice community. As a vehicle for social and personal transformation, I founded Joyful Mind Project, a grassroots 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to fostering mindfulness in education. My work there facilitated the growth of mindfulness in over a dozen Bay Area schools.
Determined to work at the intersection of mindfulness and racial and social justice, I spent five years supporting the growth of school-based mindfulness at Bayside Martin Luther King Jr. Academy in Marin City, an unincorporated community of Marin County where systemic racism has historically limited access to resources. I also completed many hours for my clinical Traineeship and Associateship in Marin City through the Marin County Cooperations Team and Southern Marin Community Connection, grassroots community organizations empowering youth to become organizers and influencers.
I am honored to have had my clinical work supervised by Gina Biegel, LMFT, author, researcher, and leader in the field of secular mindfulness, and Elberta Eriksson, LCSW, LMFT, a fierce elder and role model who worked for social justice in mental health until her death at age ninety-one. I also completed many clinical hours in the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District where I deepened my understanding of the dynamics within school systems.
My training also includes a certificate in Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy from the Embody Lab and a certificate in trauma-informed care from the Center for Adolescent Studies with Sam Himelstein, Ph.D., researcher and pioneer of mindfulness with incarcerated youth. My mindfulness-based work is featured in the book, Happy Teachers Change the World: A Guide for Cultivating Mindfulness in Education by Thich Nhat Hanh and Katherine Weare.
cultural humility
As a white-bodied person living on the unceded, ancestral land of the Southern Pomo people, I am committed to cultural humility; to the ongoing work of unearthing my unconscious biases and healing the harm these have caused; and to skillfully and appropriately sharing the contemplative practices that have been passed to me by direct transmission.
In my work, I have seen how systems of privilege and oppression contribute to mental illness, misdiagnosis, and stigma around receiving support. I have been inspired to work with clients of diverse backgrounds and to challenge systems that contribute to collective and individual suffering.
I am committed to utilizing the privilege I have been given to engage in advocacy, direct services, and dialogues that help dismantle systemic and structural level injustice and inequity.
As a queer, neurodivergent person impacted by complex trauma, my lived experience informs my work on every level — making clear to me the need for accessible spaces that disrupt ableism and the dominate culture norms that perpetuate systems of oppression and separation.
I have had the honor of working alongside and learning from LGBTQI+, Black, Indigenous, Latinix, and multi-racial identified people; I am body-positive; and I welcome your cultural values and spiritual beliefs in the therapy room.
inspiration
I am inspired by the work of Ignacio Martin-Baro, a Spanish born Jesuit priest and social psychologist who writes about liberation; Black feminist author and activist adrienne maree brown who writes about pleasure and change; and Eihei Dogen’s 12th century fascicle, Uji, an exploration of the human relationship with time.
I am most inspired by my clients, the depths we explore together, and the honor it is to do this work.
education, professional affiliations, & certifications
California Institute of Integral Studies, Integral Counseling Psychology Program, Adjunct Professor
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), Member
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists Redwood Empire Chapter (RE-CAMFT), Member
International Mindfulness Teachers Association, Member
San Francisco Zen Center, Member, Family Programs Director
Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate, Embody Lab
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Teens Certification, Stressed Teens
Certified Mindfulness Instructor (CMI), Mindful Schools
Trauma-Informed Care for Youth-Service Professionals Certificate, Center For Adolescent Studies
Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies, California State University Northridge
Master of Arts, Counseling Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies (LMFT)