My Approach

Years of personal and professional experience with Eastern healing modalities combined with more classic, client-centered psychological approaches have helped me create an approach to therapy that focuses primarily on healing your relationship with yourself — understanding that only through this initial work of self-compassion can we then initiate positive and sustainable change in our actions, behaviors, and relationships.

The end goal for my work with every single client is to create a strong inner advocate. Self-advocacy is the ability to clearly understand and communicate one’s own needs, rights, and boundaries to others. It involves recognizing your value, speaking up for yourself with confidence, and making decisions that protect your well-being. Practicing self-advocacy requires self-awareness, assertiveness, and resilience, as it often means standing up for yourself even in challenging situations. Ultimately, self-advocacy can empower my clients to take control of their lives, creating a life that feels deeply aligned.

The tenets that make up my therapeutic approach are:

  • Self-Compassion

    Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) is a methodology designed to help individuals develop self-compassion to manage difficult emotions like shame, self-criticism, and fear. Rooted in evolutionary psychology, CFT emphasizes cultivating kindness toward oneself and others, helping individuals create a balanced, compassionate mind to regulate emotions, enhance resilience, and reduce suffering. This approach combines mindfulness, imagery, and cognitive-behavioral techniques to foster a nurturing, inner supportive voice.

  • Inner Child Work

    Inner child work is a therapeutic approach focused on connecting with and healing the child-like aspects of ourselves that hold unresolved emotions and needs from early life experiences. It involves acknowledging, validating, and nurturing these parts, which often influence our behavior, relationships, and self-esteem in adulthood. By addressing past wounds through compassion and self-care, individuals can integrate these parts of themselves, leading to greater emotional resilience, self-acceptance, and inner peace.

  • Somatic Practices

    Somatic therapy focuses on the connection between the body and mind to help process and release trauma, stress, and emotional pain. It operates on the idea that the body holds onto experiences, especially when they’re intense or overwhelming, which can lead to physical tension and emotional distress. Somatic therapy uses techniques like deep breathing, movement, and body awareness to help people become more attuned to physical sensations, allowing them to release stored emotions and feel more grounded, safe, and present in their lives.

  • A Focus on Integrity

    Embodying integrity is about aligning our actions, words, and choices with our core values and beliefs. It involves a commitment to honesty, authenticity, and accountability, where we act in ways that truly reflect who we are and what we stand for. This work requires self-awareness to understand our values, courage to make decisions that may be difficult, and resilience to stay true to ourselves even when faced with external pressures. Embodying integrity brings a sense of inner peace, consistency, and trustworthiness, as we know we are living in a way that honors our true selves.

I specialize in working with…

The Hustler

You’ve got a strong work ethic, big goals, and a really long to-do list. You work tirelessly to pursue your career aspirations and passions, but often get burnt out in the process. You tend to be a perfectionist, and have a hard time letting go of your need to do it all. You are seeking more life balance, less self-criticism, and guidance on how to give yourself more permission for rest and self-care.

The One in Transition

You may feel at the precipice of a big life change, but confused as to how to move forward. Usually in your late twenties or early thirties, you’re experiencing a deep desire to evolve. You may be craving a career change, taking inventory of what relationships serve you, and desiring a life that feels more reflective of your own personal growth. As you get clearer on who you are and what you want, you crave support around forging a new, more aligned life path.

The Empath

You are emotionally attuned and intuitive, so you often put everyone’s needs before your own. Your emotions can feel intense at times — which usually results in overwhelm, shutting down, or people-pleasing. You are a natural caregiver, and the person everyone turns to for advice or help. But you need support with setting boundaries, emotional regulation, and voicing your needs so that you can create space to tend to yourself first.

The Modern Mama

You are experiencing what can be both the most rewarding yet also most challenging chapter of a woman’s life: the whirlwind of motherhood. You need support managing the anxiety that arises from juggling parenting, your household, your relationship, and your career — phew! You are in need of emotional support, validation, and guidance on how to make space for your needs, which can often be the last thing on your very long To-Do list.


I also specialize in:

relationships, dating, and female friendships

coping with anxiety and burnout

navigating your twenties, thirties, and forties

mother-daughter relationships

boundary work & communication skills

Latina cultural issues (se habla Español)

Ready to start our work together?

  • “Thank you for always providing a safe space for me and so many others. Thank you for your dedication to your work & practice. And thank you for the space you always hold for me and so many others to grow. I don’t know where I would be physically, emotionally, or spiritually if this practice hadn’t come into my life when it did. I’ll always be so thankful for [Ferny].”

    - Client

  • “Ferny provides a wealth of knowledge and tools for life. I certainly learned more about myself and humans in general.”

    ⁠— Client

  • “Ferny, you have a real gift as a counselor […] You’ve helped me wake up and I’ve got no interest in falling back asleep! Thank you for your wisdom, guidance, and love. You are helping me look within and tell my Little Self it’s okay to feel, she doesn’t have to be scared anymore, and she’s loved. Thank you doesn’t even come close to what you are helping me do for myself.”

    ⁠— Client