at last, i can just be.
inclusive, EMPOWERING THERAPY FOR adults who learned to survive by STAYING IN CONTROL AND WANT TO LEARN TO LIVE BY LETTING GO
HI, I’M LUCA (THEY/HE).
I’m a queer, trans, mixed race Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Oakland, CA (Lisjan Ohlone land). I serve folks all across the state of California through virtual services. I offer in-person sessions on Fridays in Oakland.
I work with high-achieving adults who feel like their anxiety is slipping out of their tight grips. Maybe it’s become more difficult to manage the ever-looping fears or panic. Maybe you notice that you’re consistently irritable and on edge, your body full of tension. Maybe you struggle to do things that used to come easily, like drive, socialize, or take on major projects.
You used to feel unshakeable, in control. You want to find a way back to how it was before, afraid that you’re going to lose yourself. Together, we connect with the parts of you that learned to rely on control to feel safe in the first place. We accept, without judgment or blame, what was lost in learning to survive this way.
In our work, I help you learn that it’s not about returning to being in control. It’s about understanding what control did for you and your sense of security, and finding new ways of connecting to yourself and others so that you can finally release the loneliness, self-doubt, and shame kept at bay.
With the support of compassionate guidance and no-nonsense honesty, you can break free from the fear and rigidity of trying to stay the course. I’ll help you find your way to a freer, clearer life that feels more like you.
OFFERINGS
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INDIVIDUAL THERAPY
I provide therapy for high-performing adults whose inner accelerators are running on fumes. If this is you, you may feel overwhelmed and overburdened, unable to connect meaningfully with yourself and others. You might feel confused as to why you’re running on empty when you’re used to doing it all. Within this context of high performance and perfectionism, a variety of other concerns might arise, such as anxiety and depression, codependency, major life transitions, interpersonal conflict, grief and loss, and explorations of sexuality and gender identity.
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1:1 RELATIONSHIP THERAPY
My 1:1 relationship therapy is for over-functioners, beloved control freaks, and codependents looking to feel greater calm, confidence, and agency in their relationships. Maybe you feel stuck between holding onto all the responsibility (even if no one asked you to) and wanting to be held. You might fixate on all the ways other people can change to better improve the quality of your relationship, and struggle to look inside at your own patterns. I can help you reconnect to your emotions, heal from previous attachment wounds, set appropriate boundaries, engage in healthy conflict, clarify realistic expectations of yourself and others in relationships, and communicate unmet emotional needs.
Please note that this is different than couples therapy, in that I only work with individuals.
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GENDER AFFIRMING THERAPY
Gender affirming therapy is for anyone starting the process of intentionally and mindfully exploring their gender identity, and for people who feel clear in their gender identity but want to deepen their understanding of how their gender intersects with other parts of their lives and identities. Areas of focus can include social transition, medical transition, family culture, loneliness and isolation from community, fear of being trans in this current political moment, romance patterns, sex and pleasure practices, and internalized expectations of the “right” way to perform gender.
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IFS THERAPY
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapy model based on the idea that we are all made up of parts that help us move through the world. IFS honors the ways in which parts have tried tirelessly to protect us, and seeks to liberate parts from roles and responsibilities that they may no longer want to carry. As an IFS practitioner, I help you make space for your different parts while helping them release what has outgrown them. IFS therapy can be helpful for people who feel stuck between relinquishing old patterns of control, avoidance, and denial, and stepping into newer, more adaptive ways of connecting to themselves and others.
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SOMATIC THERAPY
I incorporate somatic therapy to help people reconnect with their bodies. When our most precious qualities are repeatedly criticized, attacked, or made invisible, our inherent ability to connect with our emotions and sensations gets disrupted. Through focusing and deepening into your felt sense of being, I can help you feel your way through your emotions without distraction, defensiveness, and dissociation. Somatic therapy is especially helpful for anyone who fears their intense emotions and needs, struggles to slow down, and finds themself trying to control what cannot be controlled.
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EMDR THERAPY
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a model that uses the brain’s natural capacity to heal trauma. People who undergo EMDR therapy commonly report that their trauma feels like something that happened to them in the past, as opposed to something that continues to happen within them over and over again. I use a combination of somatic approaches and Internal Family Systems (IFS) when doing EMDR in order to provide comprehensive healing.
WHO I WORK WITH
Queer, trans, BIPOC, and mixed race folks seeking to reclaim agency and identity outside of pressures to deny who they are
Neurodivergent folks who feel burdened by shame and want to embody more of their authentic selves
High-achieving professionals who are outwardly successful but feel lost, dissatisfied, and disconnected inside
People-pleasers looking to re-prioritize putting on their own oxygen mask instead of everyone else’s
Codependents wanting to heal from relationship patterns that cause intense anxiety and feelings of being out of control
Covid-conscious folks who want to feel more connected to themselves and aligned community
Survivors of trauma who want to not feel so stuck in the past
People overwhelmed with anxiety seeking relief from self-doubt and overwhelm
People finding their way through body liberation who want to cultivate compassionate relationships with their bodies
Children of immigrants and eldest adult children who value closeness with their families outside of obligation
I work well with people who are self-reflective and curious about themselves. They notice that there’s something off in their lives and feel motivated to explore what’s going on. While they might feel scared and confused, they turn toward the issue and want to change.
how i work
My style is collaborative, thoughtful, and warm. I am emotionally engaged and responsive, offering compassionate reflections and informed insights from I’m hearing and sensing from you. I do not just sit, nod, and agree with everything you say. I challenge you to step outside of perspectives that could be limiting your options for change. At the same time, I center trust and safety so that you know I am here with you at your own pace; we explore the fear of change without avoiding it.
Informed by my own experiences as a racialized, disabled, queer & trans person, I have a deep capacity for complexity and view your history, both personally and ancestrally, as central to the healing work. I hold your intricate story with respect and care.
My commitment to working with multiply marginalized people has offered me the gift of nearly a decade of experience supporting clients who are queer, trans, BIPOC, mixed race, neurodivergent, chronically ill, disabled, fat, and children of immigrants.
release the status quo
You have carried the pressure to perform and be responsible for so long. If any of this sounds familiar, I hope that you can feel, even just a tiny bit, a sense of softening. Of opening into possibility. Of exhaling into the reprieve from putting some of this down. In our work together, I’ll help you lay these burdens to rest while staying connected to the important things in your life.
“AND IT’S INSIDE MYSELF THAT I MUST CREATE SOMEONE WHO WILL UNDERSTAND.”
Clarice Lispector