Hello beautiful souls, I’m Kimberly and like you, I am here to be human.
My experiences both as a therapist and a client have shown me that the deepest and most transformative healing comes not through the use of a theory or intervention, but through human connection, through the moments when the most humanity is in the room, not the least. So, I share with you here my very human story in hopes that you may feel less alone in your own.
My Story…
Constantly seeking, desperate for a place to belong, yet knowing that in all the places I existed, I wasn’t meant to be. Trying to force connections and create my place, not knowing that I was so far from my true purpose. Constant stories about who I was, who I wasn’t allowed to be, the deep shame of knowing that I was something other people couldn’t accept and that there were parts of me that were impossible for other people to tolerate. Trying to prove myself to all of the wrong people in all of the wrong ways. Until my path crossed with someone who allowed me to be fully me. And so started a very long, painful and breathtakingly beautiful journey home. Which soon ignited a desire within to be that same guiding light for others, to be a healer who stands beside those who are seeking their own way home.
On this journey I came face to face with all that was hiding in the depths of my experiences: my anxiety, my fear, my inner critic, my deep-rooted wounds…my Self. It was not pretty (and still isn’t some days!). It was filled with confusion, pain and loss. But with it came a chasmic learning, beyond what I could have ever imagined. I rediscovered who I truly was underneath the conditioning and external messages I had received. I learned that it was my own love that I was so desperately seeking outside of myself, and once I was brave enough to turn inward in my search, I found true healing. I learned to conquer what felt like insurmountable obstacles and trust my ability to self-heal. I am now more aware, more aligned, and more alive, and I am ready to help you feel the same.
My Philosophy
My understanding of the healing process comes much from my own journey along with the approaches to growth that I have learned along the way.
I believe that the relationship you forge with your clinician is the most important part of the therapeutic process because in the presence of another human that you feel safe being fully yourself with, you can visit the dark and vulnerable places that live within you and tap into your own self-healing.
A large part of the process of growth and change comes from exploring the narratives that you hold about yourself and looking at where they originated. The stories that the external world tells you about who you are or who you should be. The stories that have reverberated so deeply in your mind you now hear them from what feels like your own voice. We can trap ourselves unintentionally in these stories, in the conditioning and legacy from our pasts and use them to define ourselves. As we release this old programming and move into our truth, we begin to heal and expand.
We carry within us distinct parts of ourselves that over time and through our experiences have fragmented from the whole. These parts often show up in our deepest moments of suffering and vulnerability. And these parts, if left unattended to, can keep us stagnant in our growth. The wounded parts, the protective parts, the rebellious parts, the parts of us we carry in shame, all long to be seen and loved. When we do the work to liberate these parts of ourselves and subsequently embrace them, we can then begin to integrate them back into our true authentic selves.
When you live in a world that constantly reflects back to you your flaws, brokenness and hurt, therapy creates a space for you to be seen in all of the ways in which you are beautifully capable and whole. The intrinsic capabilities that have always laid dormant inside of you but were lost along the journey. The answers you seek are within and therapy is the mirror that reflects this back to you. It is YOU who does the work in therapy to seek your light and use it to heal. The mirror merely shows you all of the things that were already there in the first place, everything that already existed dormant inside you all along.
These approaches are influenced by attachment theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Relational Life Therapy (RLT), Existential and Humanistic therapies, but above all they are influenced by the connection that runs through all of us, that of being human.
What it’s Like to Work with Me
Let's talk about what you may really want to know...what it is like to work with me:
I will make space for you to reflect on your lived experience and give you permission to question the knowledge that exists as rules or values in your mind. Together we will illuminate whether those values are truly yours or someone else's narrative of how you should be, think, or feel. I will challenge you to seek answers inside yourself first before leaning into the socially dominated narrative that is so pervasive in the outside world.
I will embrace every part of you. I will respect equally both the parts that are bright and joy filled and also those that are cast underneath layers of dark shadow that you may intentionally or by condition have been told to hide from the world.
I will crawl into the dark pit of despair with you, bring all of my shadows along so that you know you aren't alone. I will hang out with you down there in the dark so that you know what you feel is something I intimately know, accept and embrace. We will continue to revisit the pit as many times as needed but also know that I will not allow you to take residence there.
I’m not the type of therapist sitting at the top of the dark pit throwing down flashlights or band aids for your wounds and pain. I do not offer merely tools that will only last until the batteries run out.
I will challenge you to let go of the things that are keeping you stuck, and support you through the pain that comes with letting go.
I will show up imperfectly - that I can guarantee. I believe in the healing power of vulnerability and transparency. I am human first, so I will share my human experiences and imperfections with you if I think it will help your growth.
Sarcasm and humor are my love languages and both will show up often in our sessions. I believe laughter is a huge part of connection and has the power to heal the soul in ways other traditional medicines do not.
I am basically some sort of evolved werewolf and use the phases of the moon to create consistency in the cyclical nature of life. Get ready to experience this magic if we work together.
Soul Callings
While being a helper and healer is my greatest calling in life, there are areas in this work in which I feel deeply connected to and therefore have focused on expanding my knowledge of these specialities.
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD):
My focus on providing support and guidance for individuals who live with PMDD comes from my personal lived experiences with the diagnosis. I have lived most of my life with PMDD, and although just only being officially diagnosed with it 8 years ago, I intimately understand the depth of struggle that it creates. Through my own journey navigating these challenges, along with my feverish pursuit of educating myself on all things PMDD related, I have created a method of therapy and coaching that offers deep exploration of self, builds an arsenal of tools against the PMDD storm, and allows for space to integrate PMDD into your life that fits your unique experiences.
Infertility and Pregnancy Loss:
These specializations also come from an intimate understanding of these experiences. What I have found in the journey of fertility and the sometimes devastating moments we meet along the way, is that inevitably we question everything that we are meant to do in this life. We question purpose, we seek reasons and answers and often find hopelessness living in the places we look for them. It is pivotal to have a space where you can feel hopeless, where you can rage against the injustices and unfair moments that this journey creates. I offer this to my clients and help them find the answers they seek within themselves as well as redefine their lives and grieve the losses on their path.
Couples Therapy:
My passion and focus in the realm of intimate relationships sparks from an understanding of how pivotal a role our partners can play as we are healing old wounds. It is my belief that if we truly allow our partners to witness our pain, with the right guidance they can be for us what some of the most important people in our lives, when we were younger, could not be. When our partners can reflect for us the parts of self that are loved and worthy, it can often give us permission to see ourselves in that same way. This is the foundation from which growth and healing occurs. In couples therapy I guide couples to be this for each other, much like the way a therapist reflects this back to their clients. Our partners can learn to mirror what we need to see in ourselves in order to help one another to reach their best and highest versions of self.
Anxiety Counseling:
My personal experiences with the paralyzing effects of anxiety have encouraged my pursuit of supporting those who suffer from this debilitating affliction. It is my belief that this disruption comes in its strongest form when we are deeply disconnected from self. I know intimately what it is like to be so detached from yourself that nothing feels safe; what it's like to distrust that life will support you and the pain that comes from knowing how much more exists in this world but fear keeps you from fully accessing. I have found that the greatest liberation from this comes when you return home to yourself and anchor internally, finding safety within instead of seeking it outside. Freedom from anxiety comes when we are confident in our own abilities to overcome and persevere.
Now that we have officially met, here’s all the nitty gritty details:
After several years working in both the legal field and cosmetology field, I realized after taking an intro to psych class that what deeply peaked my interest above immigration law and beauty strategies, was human behavior. I fell in love with the knowledge, insight and personal expansion that lived in this subject and so began my therapeutic journey.
In 2006, I began working as a Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence advocate and crisis counselor during the completion of my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Gender Studies from Sonoma State University.
In 2008, I answered a deep soul calling and began the pursuit of my Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from The California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego, CA.
In 2009, I began my traineeship as a psychotherapist working with terminally ill clients and their families at the Center for Grief Care and Education at San Diego Hospice. Here I met with the depths of my soul and realized there was so much more to my purpose than I ever could know without this experience.
In 2019, I learned the deep healing that can occur when we tap into our internal value system and utilize a deep sense of acceptance and staying committed to our truth in the completion of Level 1 and Level 2 of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
In 2019, I also created a business specifically for supporting individuals living with PMDD as a coach at The PMDD Coach (www.thepmddcoach.com).
In 2020, I learned the natural healing power of the human brain in treating our deepest wounds and pain in the completion of the Level 1 Brainspotting training.
And later in 2020, The Path Wellness Center was born as a culmination of the extensive learning, healing and growth that I have experienced as a human, student, professor and licensed clinician over the past 15 years.
So, what does this long list of experiences and training mean to you?
It means I can help. I know my shit. This is my passion and my calling and it has been created through a lifelong pursuit of helping myself and others alleviate suffering.
In 2010, I completed my MA and decided to continue the pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment through the completion of my Doctorate of Psychology in Marriage and Family Therapy from The California School of Professional Psychology in Sacramento, CA.
In 2011, I began working at The Sacramento Children’s Home with adolescents and families facing a multitude of struggles, including family separation, foster care, childhood abuse and neglect, bullying, school related stressors, self-harm, and relationship difficulties.
In 2014, I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation that explored the parent child relationship and the aspects of psychotherapy that most helped enhance it.
In 2015, I officially became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#LMFT 85413) and started my own private psychotherapy practice.
In 2015, I also began teaching as an adjunct professor at Alliant International University, in the pursuit of teaching the next generation of therapists how to show up in our work as humans first.
In 2018, I learned to tend to the internal worlds of partners and help couples connect and heal through Level one and two of Relational Life Therapy (RLT).