Welcome to my practice and to The Resilient Helix! 

I want to tell you a bit about myself and how I work. There are a number of competent psychiatrists in town, with more or less similar medical training but we differ in how we practice. You have to find the right fit for you and your family. Hopefully this summary guides you along the right path.

I am a bilingual (Spanish and English) and bicultural board certified Pediatric and Adult Psychiatrist who enhances the biomedical treatment of psychiatric wellness with more in depth psychotherapy work with children, teens, adults and families.

• I incorporate Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Structural Family Therapy, Mentalization based therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

• I embrace a developmental perspective rooted in early attachment and developmental theories which has been effective in treating a variety of depressive, anxiety, behavioral issues and trauma.

• I bring a holistic approach to care that emphasizes exercise, nutrition, social and/or divine connectedness, and the cultivation of the body’s own endogenous system of healing.

• In addition to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, I have a specialization in Reproductive Psychiatry, PTSD and Eating Disorders. My main goals are to make patients feel safe, empowered, respected and hopeful.

Clinical interests

• Early Development, Attachment, Parenting, Epigenetics

• Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety

• Child and Adult ADHD

• Neurodiverse individuals: Autism, Twice Exceptional Individuals

• Lyme disease and its co-infections

• Reproductive Psychiatry, Women’s Health

• PTSD, Sexual Trauma

• Helping kids and parents through High Conflict Divorce/Mediation/Custody Evaluations

• Transgender identities

Non-clinical interests

• Yoga, swimming, running, biking, tennis, hiking in the middle of nowhere

• Star Wars

• All Animals - sloths especially.

Background

• B. A. in Molecular Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley with Department Honors

• Howard Hughes Biology Fellow Neuroscience research in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Koshland. Honors thesis focused on developing an in-vitro model looking at Brain-Derived-Neurotrophic-Factor protection against Excitotoxic Neuronal cell death

• M.D. degree with Honors from the University of California, San Francisco

• Completion of UCSF Biomedical Research Curriculum with Thesis in the UCSF Department of Memory and Aging. Focused on brain lesion models in Fronto-Temporal Dementia patients looking at biological correlates of empathy, limbic/subcortical emotional processing, top down appraisal of motivation and intention, and self-other awareness. Conducted clinical evaluations of patients with Dementia, neuropsychological testing, post-mortem neuropathology and neurohistochemistry.

• Adult Psychiatry and Neurology Residency, University of California, San Diego with a special interest in Reproductive Psychiatry.

• Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego

• Member of the American Psychiatric Association

• Member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

• Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

• Diplomate of the American Board of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry