Why Choose Therapy?
It Can Help With...
Personal Development
My therapeutic approach focuses on personal development and growth, helping individuals and couples strengthen their self-worth, confidence, resiliency, and emotional intelligence.
Life Transitions
Change is a challenging and never-ending part of human existence. Navigating major life transitions can be overwhelming. In sessions I provide compassionate support and guidance, helping people to adapt to changes and find new meaning in life.
Building Resilience
Managing life stressors and balancing day-to-day obligations to family, friends, work, home, and self can be difficult. Our therapy sessions focus on building resilience, empowering you to successfully navigate life's challenges.
Attachment and Loss
Exploring attachment patterns and coping with loss is a primary focus in our therapy process. Addressing these issues can help clients receive validation, heal old wounds, release guilt and shame, and cultivate inner peace and self-acceptance.
Acquired Disabilities
Integrating an acquired disability takes time. Therapy helps people move through this transition giving space to process their emotions, develop or modify adaptive skills, and adjust to a changing identity.
Relationship Challenges
Many couples struggle with issues related to trust, attachment, and intimacy. In couples therapy we address these challenges by exploring historical wounds, gaining insight, cultivating empathy for your partner, and improving communication with practical accessible tools.
About Hayley
The events and challenges I have overcome personally and professionally have shown me how powerful and effective therapy can be (when we are ready for it). My training helps me guide clients in identifying what is keeping them stuck in their negative cycles. My job is to help them see the alternative, what is possible when we allow ourselves to grow as an individual and develop new ways of engaging in our relationships.
You are unique. While you may share the same cultural features, common experiences, or similar stories with others, you are the unique sum of your parts. It is important to me to understand you as an entire person, looking into your unique background, exploring your culture and the specific beliefs you ascribe to (or those you don't) so that I can support you from a place of deeper appreciation and empathy.
As a generalist I have worked with a wide range of individuals, children, couples and families in community mental health agencies, colleges and universities, and in private practice for the past eight years. All of these experiences have reinforced the importance of a collaborative approach in therapy; pairing your valuable life experience and insights with my knowledge and expertise in clinical psychology.
As a lifelong learner I am passionate and have a fierce drive for continued growth. I enjoy sharing these traits with my clients, in whatever capacity they are able to receive it.
In my personal time I enjoy raising my three children, camping, reading, dancing, listening to music, and spending time with friends. I am originally from the Bay Area but I have enjoyed living in a variety of other places; when possible I love traveling. I am passionate about equality and inclusion and strive to live these values every day. I hope that by sharing my own personal journey with hearing loss I can help educate others and improve disability awareness in general.
Education
Doctorate of Psychology (Psy.D.)
John F. Kennedy University (APA Accredited), Pleasant Hill, CA
Dissertation
Adjustment to Hearing Loss in Early to Middle Adulthood
Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology with minor in Women's Studies
Mills College, Oakland, CA
Areas of Specializations
Acquired Disabilities
Men's Issues
Parenting
I specialize in supporting individuals who are exploring and adapting to acquired disabilities. The focus may be on helping them process any grief or anger around their loss, adjusting to limited or changed ability, and managing the mixed anxiety and excitement as they redefine their identity and how they want to navigate the world.
In many cultures, men have been socialized to compartmentalize or deny their feelings, needs, and desires. I provide a space where men can more openly express their thoughts and feelings honestly and without judgement. Work here focuses on helping clients develop emotional insight(s), explore the impact of societal pressures, clarify relationship expectations and improve communication of those expectations, find balance in conflicting work-life demands, alleviate sexual issues, and provide more effective tools for anger management.
I support parents from conception through pregnancy wherever along the journey they may be. I help women and men who are in the early years of their child's life who are struggling with postpartum identity and mental health issues. Each stage of the pregnancy, birth, and developmental process has its unique joys and struggles. I will work with you to navigate them as gracefully as possible, grounding any anxiety or fear by providing education on normative milestones, how to co-parent, and best practices for your growing family.
Couples Therapy
I engage couples in an Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. This theoretical approach emphasizes exploring attachment and attachment ruptures. I support couples in understanding how their early attachments (positive and negative) impact their current relationships. In exploring how they interact we can create better ways to connect with their partners. The process will help cultivate empathy and understanding for one another, help individuals challenge problematic dynamics, and build a stronger foundation/security in your relationship.
Grief and Loss
Losing a loved one can be devastating. The grief process is someting that often is not talked about. You may notice people around you have withdrawn or are unsure how to interact with you. Many people don't know what to expect or what is "normal" when grieving. If you need help dealing with loss (recent or distant), I will work with you to foster strength and resilience to process your loss. While navigating the stages of grief I will ground your experience with normative markers, symptoms, feelings, and thoughts people often go through as life continues.
Women's issues
Being raised primarily by my mother, embracing feminist culture, and attending one of the most pronounced all-female colleges has significantly shaped my world-view. Personally and professionally I am an advocate and I want to help more women navigate their unique issues and struggles women face day-to-day. Using a feminist approach, therapy emphasizes understanding the individual's lived experience. More specifically treatment highlights the impact societal norms play in shaping a woman's identity, relationships, agency, and empowerment.