Hi, I’m Nic.
I am a Registered Marriage and Family Therapy Associate who specializes in supporting clients through transitions in their relationships. I am white, Latina, 2nd-gen American, queer, and my pronouns are she/they. I studied psychology at Reed College, and received my Masters of Arts in Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy from Lewis & Clark College.
Who I Am
My choice to become a therapist is a result of my early life experiences. I am a child of divorce, raised in a high-conflict, multicultural, and blended family. In the homes I grew up in, the hurts left behind from divorce left open wounds, that made new wounds for the next generation. I learned firsthand how systemic factors like class, race, gender, culture, etc, are intertwined with our relationships, creating conflict, disconnection, and hurting the most vulnerable. I see the end of relationships (whether through death, divorce, or any other means) as inevitable, normal, and highly impactful, and in my practice I work to minimize the harm caused by such loss as much as possible.
In addition to being a therapist, I am a ceramicist, aquarius sun/libra moon/leo rising, INFJ, writer, musician, avid reader, and a big time reality dating show fan; ask me about love island (or literally any reality show ;)
How I work
I work from both an Attachment and Existential Humanist perspective. Within these frameworks, I have the freedom to tailor therapy to the unique, complex context of every client. I also draw on Polyvagal Theory and Internal Family Systems Therapy, as I find they work well within my therapeutic world view.
In this life, I believe we are all born to connect and make meaning. As your therapist, my goal is to build a meaningful relationship with you, in which we can explore the complexity of your life; the mundane, the magic, the painful. This looks like curiosity, honesty, laughter, use of metaphor, play and art therapy techniques, naming and feeling emotion, and most importantly, relying on the quality of our own relationship to create new experiences. The therapeutic process can look something like this:
Safe connection → Greater capacity for sitting in what is present → Authentic meaning making
I will ask you what made you hold your breath just then, I will ask you what it means, I will ask you to hold complexity and uncertainty. Our time together will not always be comfortable, but I believe that when we’re willing to sit in our emotional tensions and in-between spaces to really see what is true for us, things expand and grow.
I am supervised by Paula Emerick, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and Justin Rock, a Licensed Professional Counselor.