My work as a therapist has been informed by my Japanese and Caucasian biracial heritage. Being asked all my life, ”What are you?”, led me to an intense study in graduate school of the development of identity. I realize, after all these years of the practice of psychotherapy, that we are all trying to understand “what” and “who” we are. This search for our true selves is often the key to understanding the roots of depression and anxiety.

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Growing up embracing two cultures has helped me understand that multiple perspectives are not only possible but are actually enriching. As a therapist, I bring this knowledge both to my work with individuals----how might a person’s world be enhanced if they were able to expand their point of view?----and to my work with couples----how can their connection deepen as they develop empathy and respect for each other?

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I chose to attend The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California where I earned my Ph.D. in social clinical psychology because of the school’s academic excellence, and its multicultural community with a strong commitment to social justice, feminism and race/gender equity. These principles, ideas and varied training settings have provided a framework and a lens through which I understand life experiences and form the basis of my empathic and relational psychotherapy practice. 

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I have a strong dedication to teaching and supervising therapists in training, and have been a professor at Bay Area graduate schools. Teaching keeps me aware of both the promise and limits of doing psychotherapy as well as the passion and inspiration required to do this work. I have been fortunate to have worked with a diversity of clients - from many different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, both men and women, heterosexual, bisexual, gay and lesbian. My years in mental health community agencies as well as my years in private practice have deepened my understanding of the range of human experience.

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I love to cook, to practice Ikebana, and to kayak. I am in a long term committed relationship and have raised two now adult daughters. These experiences, more than any other, have convinced me of the importance of openness, maintaining perspective and a sense of humor.

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