Hello, I'm Kai.

I am a queer & genderqueer trans therapist based in the unceded Lisjan Ohlone land of Oakland, CA. I was born in the Philippines, and am of mixed ancestry pilipinx & irish/italian. As a person of diaspora, marginalization, and privilege, the experiences I've gone through directly shape the way I approach my private practice.

I came into this work first as a peer and community activist, with my own lived experiences and trauma, and all the ways these manifested as "symptoms" in my life. Back then, I wasn't seeing therapists who looked like me. It became my hope to not only be this for someone else, but to take the knowledge I learn in this field & make it more accessible for my communities.

My educational training was centered around a psychodynamic lens, and I have especially been drawn toward incorporating relational therapy, liberation psychology, somatic therapy, parts work, and trauma-focused therapies such as EMDR into my practice. I believe strongly in continually building up my training and knowledge in order to more holistically support what my clients show up wanting or needing.

Therapy with me can look like many things, with all those things being welcome. This includes the messiness, the deep emotional work, the lighthearted moments, moving through crises or stressors, talking about your hopes & goals, building your capacity to be accountable to yourself & your communities, and even making room for dark humor to cope.

I prioritize creating a relationship with one another, so that we can work toward building trust at a pace that is tolerable enough for insight and embodiment to happen. I see my role as supporting you in making sense of the things that are confusing or "too much," and being someone who intrinsically believes in your capacity for growth and healing.

One of the things that has been most critical in my own work as a client in therapy, and which I hope to bring to my clients as well, is building an awareness of what is tolerable around trauma work. And moving at this pace, despite how frustrating it can be to want to rush into healing and just be "okay." There is so much to learn about ourselves in this slow process, and it's here that we and our bodies can begin to feel a sense of trust and safety within ourselves.



As a therapist, I love being able to witness my clients begin to unlearn the negative ways they've been taught to view themselves. To start to think and speak more kindly and compassionately toward themselves, to give themselves more patience and understanding, and to release the burdens they carry that weren't theirs to continue holding.

I strongly believe in our capacity to heal, grow, and change, & I feel honored to be a witness and comrade alongside your journey.

PSYCHODYNAMIC

LIBERATION PSYCHOLOGY

TRAUMA-INFORMED (ACUTE, COMPLEX, & INTERGENERATIONAL)

HARM REDUCTION

NARRATIVE THERAPY

EXPRESSIVE ARTS

POLITICIZED SOMATICS

​SOMATIC EMDR

ERP FOR OCD

ANTI CARCERAL APPROACH TO SUICIDALITY & SELF INJURY

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LCSW 126979

EDUCATION

Masters in Social Work, 2017

Smith College School for Social Work

Bachelors in Social Welfare & Ethnic Studies, 2009

UC Berkeley

TRAINING

EMDR Training | Trauma Recovery/HAP

Somatic EMDR | Embody Lab

Politicized Somatics | Thirdspace Somatics

ERP for OCD | CBI Center for Education

PRIOR EXPERIENCE

​Lyon Martin Community Health

Fred Finch Youth & Family Services

Richmond Area Multi Services (RAMS)

East Bay Agency for Children (EBAC)

​SF Women Against Rape (SFWAR)