Portrait of Luca with glasses, multiple earrings, and a septum piercing, wearing a beige button-up shirt, sitting outdoors with greenery and a yellow wall in the background.

ABOUT

Hi, I’m Luca. I’m a therapist who knows what it’s like to feel restricted by perfectionism and the need to hold it all together.

I grew up learning to excel, to outperform, to show up at the cost of being able to really get to know myself and what I wanted in my life. It took me a long time to accept just how limited I felt.

From this experience, I’ve come to love supporting people who want to expand their life outside of surviving this way.

Close-up of wooden surface with rough texture and brown tones

in this moment

I live with several intersecting identities of both privilege and marginalization that deepen my capacity for complexity. I am the child of mixed immigrant / citizen household, and am mixed race Chinese and White. I move in a mid-size body, and identify as queer and non-binary trans. I center COVID-conscious practices.

A lifelong learner, I move through the world with wonder and an open heart. Some of my favorite teachers include my loved ones, bodies of water, big theatrical ballads (bless Cynthia Erivo), memoirs about intergenerational healing, and old redwood forests.

Outside of being a therapist, I enjoy powerlifting, playing tennis, being in or near water, hiking, and reading. I focus on moving my body in ways that are free from weight loss and diet culture. Sweet on animals, I am a proud papa to a small dog and cat. They are, much to my delight, the best of friends.

HOW I CAN SUPPORT YOU WITH YOUR OWN COMPLEXITY
Small dog sitting on red steps outside a yellow building.

my little loves: sesame (dog) and minnow (cat)

Gray and white cat sitting on a bed with a closed door and a plant in the background.
Colorful Chinese lion dance mask with red, black, and green colors, yellow fur, and a pink fringe, placed on a wooden table. Behind it, there is a branch with pink and white blossoms, set against a textured blue and brick wall.

MY PRACTICE VALUES

  • The quality of the therapy relationship itself is one of the most essential components to healing. Within relationships is where we can learn to connect in an intimate, honest, and authentic way. I value co-creating a space with my clients where they learn to feel safe expressing their vulnerability.

    In practice, this means that I am checking in with you about how our relationship feels. Are you here with me? Do things flow? Are there blocks? Is there some part of me bumping up against some part of you, or vice versa? Staying close to our relationship in this way allows us to heal any potential ruptures and address blocks to our connection, thereby supporting your healing.

  • I am committed to maintaining a practice that is inclusive of diverse identities and experiences. While my intersecting identities offer me perspective in joining with you, my story is not your story. I trust and respect that you know your world best. I am here as a compassionate guide.

  • I believe that empathy allows us to keep the doors open to self-love, compassion, and kindness. When we are witnessed in our suffering and received with empathy, when we say our hardest truths and the person we are speaking to does not turn away from us, we have more opportunities to experience liberation from our deepest burdens and heal from shame.

  • Your life and vibrancy are not defined by diagnoses or systemic biases. We explore the ways that existing oppressive systems contribute to our wellness / illness. In our therapy, we can bring in historical ancestral wounds and inherited wisdom for healing. Your full power and resilience are celebrated.

  • None of us are meant to be in our healing work alone. In addition to using the therapy space as a source of ongoing support, I invite community care as an anchor and guide in your healing.

  • While we are able to provide a sense of perspective that can feel different from getting support from family and friends, I believe it’s important to acknowledge that therapists are not objective. We are not blank slates, nor are we neutral.

    Importantly, what this means is:

    • I will not judge you.

    • I will not placate you to keep you comfortable.

    • And I will not push you past where you’re ready.

    I have abundant space in me to be with where you are in your healing process, but if I pretend that I’m just a wall to bounce ideas off of, then I’m not doing a very good job at being your therapist.

Stone wall and grassy path with forest in background

if it matters

  • The Wright Institute, Berkeley, MA in Counseling Psychology

    University of California, Santa Cruz, BA in Sociology

  • Bay Area Community Resources (BACR), Richmond CA — Practicum at John Swett High School

    Richmond Area Multi-Services (RAMS), San Francisco CA — Full-time Wellness therapist at George Washington High School, facilitator of a support group for queer and trans youth

    Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC), San Francisco CA — Group clinical consultant for case workers

    Private Practice Associateship with Talia Korenbrot, San Francisco CA

  • Board of Behavioral Sciences, California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT #132935

  • Kintsugi Therapist Collective, Embodied Private Practice Cohort #4

    Kintsugi Therapist Collective, Mixed Identity Clinical Alliance

    Student of Sand Chang and Nic Wildes’ Queer & Trans Internal Family Systems Foundations Course for Trans, Nonbinary, and Queer Clinicians

  • California Association of Marriage & Family Therapist (CAMFT)

  • IFS (Internal Family Systems) Institute

    • Level 1 Certified, facilitated by lead trainer Kim Paulus and assistant trainer Sand Chang, first ever QTBIPOC affinity group

    The Embody Lab

    • Somatic EMDR

being with others while they heal is a gift.

I love what I do, and feel excited at the possibility of being able to work with you.

let's see if we're a good fit