PhotoCred: Ellen Morrison
http://www.soulstudios.org/
ABOUT ME...
I was born in San Francisco and raised in the Mission District, a rich cultural kaleidoscope of immigrant and working class folks; and while I have lived and worked in many of The City’s neighborhoods and across the East Bay, The Mission is still my heart’s home.
I am a child of immigrant working class parents who left their homelands to escape and rebuild. I identify as a woman, as Asian American, and my lineage traces to China.
I have a BA in Psychology and a MA in Social Work. Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, Social Justice and Intersectional Feminism shape my work, as well as training in Relational Theory, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma Informed Somatic Theories, and Attachment. I am a student of Buddhism and Reiki. Ultimately, all my learning is in constant growth and synthesis with each other. Here are some of the things that help me understand the human experience…
Schools of Thought and Influence
The primary influences that led me to this work are my Asian American/Ethnic Studies coursework from early on, and my Anti-Oppression training as a volunteer Rape Crisis Counselor and Advocate at San Francisco Women Against Rape.
Relational Theory: Self in relation with others, or interdependence. Individuals exist in relation to and in relationship with individuals, families, neighborhoods, communities, cultures, regions, countries, the world, the universe. What a person learns about who they are is passed along from other people. There’s a range of experience that happens in those relationships, from healthy and supportive to critical and traumatizing, which determine how a person forms their ideas of self, which then effects relationships with others. Sometimes the past needs healing by exploring the ways one has experienced hurt, and having a corrective experience in the present. This requires awareness and articulation of the stories people hold, and an understanding of attachment patterns.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Balancing pragmatic with awareness. CBT is a way to bring about awareness to thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. They are interdependent. Thoughts/beliefs (learned, possibly false) can cause a feeling (can feel like a conflict or dissonance), which then impacts behavior (the way we interact with self or others). These three are entry points for exploration, which are brought into a person’s awareness because they cause conflict in an individual or in relationship. In bringing about awareness to thoughts/feelings/behaviors and how they cause suffering, one can explore and take intentional action to create harmony or change.
Trauma Informed Care: Trauma impacts the body, and Intergenerational Trauma is a thing. People experience various forms of trauma. It can be a direct interpersonal experience, in the form of abuse or violence; it can be a result of living daily in an oppressive environment, whether that be the home or society. These experiences of trauma can get passed down intergenerationaly in our bodies and relationships. Symptoms can look like: self hatred, low self-worth, perfectionism, depression, anxiety, internalized oppression and internalized racism, difficulty in relationships, and/or unwanted patterns of behavior. Healing takes various shapes and forms. Awareness leads to empowerment. Looking at the suffering caused by these conditions is necessary to find ways to heal.
Energy Work: Reiki
Receiving my Reiki Attunement changed the way I practice therapy. It has helped me tap into an energetic awareness that better enables me to be curious about and articulate what might be hidden or difficult to say out loud.
Training
Westside Community Mental Health – Ajani/ICYF
Rape Trauma Services
Women’s Therapy Center
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Level 1
Brainspotting for BIPOC Clinicians Phase 1 &2