HI, I’M SYE (THEY/THEM)
I am a white, non-binary, queer, Registered Drama Therapist and Trauma-Informed Coach living on occupied Lisjan (Ohlone) land. Preceding any credentials, I am a human who cares deeply about multidimensional paths towards healing.
I am inspired by living for collective liberation and radical empathy. I strongly believe that leading with our imagination is crucial to healing from and through distress, traumas, and oppressions. I hold a critical lens on the industry & history of mental healthcare. Often these spaces become (re)traumatizing, especially walking the world in marginalized identities. I offer a therapeutic space that is strength-based, collaborative, and transparent. I dedicate myself to constructing a caring relationship that strives to offer you the freedom within to lead your own journey. You are the expert and I am a creative guide.
Living is artful and spiritual. Thus, the incorporation of drama and the expressive arts in therapy is an empowering conduit for promoting growth, taking other perspectives, and developing the trust of intuition. Together we will dismantle unhelpful patterns to help you re-narrate your life towards a vibrant sense of wholeness and wellbeing.
I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT…
- Defining “care” from a Gender Non Conforming & Queer understanding/lived experience
- Learning to be anti-racist, purposefully identifying, discussing and challenging experiences of race, color, and white supremacy
- De-centering cis-heteronormativity
- Decolonizing therapy practices which have long been structured around systems of harm to disconnect individuals from community, culture, and compassion
- Dissolving harmful social constructs of “Normative” & “Ability”
- Honoring YOUR lived experience as the expert
- Discussing relationships to power & privilege
- Understanding how early attachment narratives impact our present relationships and act as potential barriers to connection, intimacy, and wholeness
- Integrating mindfulness & embodied process
- Movement, poetry, yoga philosophy, nature, & HUMOR!
MY TRAINING AND INFLUENCES…
Education & Work:
I hold a MA degree from New York University (2020) in Drama Therapy and a BA in Theater Arts Performance from CSULB. I have extensive experience as a Drama Therapist and Counselor in acute psychiatric hospitals, partial hospitalization/outpatient groups, community settings, older adult care facilities, and residential treatment centers for co-occurring mental health and substance use. I have worked with individuals and groups across the life span navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, mood disorders, and life transitions often compounded by social and cultural dislocation. I have a special passion for supporting LGBTQIA2S+ folx who come in contact with these systems through a liberation focused lens
Disability Justice:
As a non-disabled person, my orientation is informed by engagement in disability justice working as an advocate with disability community in a variety of artist and mental health communities. A huge part of my life experience also includes being a loved one and in relationship to many folks who identify as living with a disability, as disabled individuals, and/or oppressed by abelist systems. I have much room for growth and invite all dialogues. I will do all I can alongside you to accommodate diverse participation and access needs. We will discuss this when we meet for a consult call.
Yoga:
I hold a Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher certificate from Exhale to Inhale (non profit bringing yoga to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault). When facilitating yoga practices I move from this trauma-informed frame. Prior to my role as a Drama Therapist I spent 6 years working as a performer, yoga instructor, and leading arts enrichment classes throughout NYC & Brooklyn. My most recent training with Alchemystic Studio focused on yoga philosophy rooted in social justice practice and decolonizing spiritual experiences. This study was led by South Asian and Desi leaders.
Other Training and Affiliations:
I am trained in Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and am also a current psychodrama trainee studying with Creative Flow Therapy Services LLC.
It looks like you’re a Drama Therapist and a Coach… What does that mean, and what are you really?
I am both! I definitely use my clinical training to support my capacities as a coach. My practice is coaching-focused as rather than specific treatment for “functioning”, diagnosis, or mental illness, my guidance is about intuitive healing, narrative processing, integration, and strength-based holistic care. If you are seeking diagnostic clarification, medication management, or other psychotherapy or psychiatric services, this is outside of my scope of practice and I would be happy to support a referral process.
