First generation therapy in California
therapy for first gen adults in California
If you're the first in your family to navigate college, a career, or a different kind of life than the one you grew up in, you may be carrying more than most people realize—pressure to succeed, guilt for wanting things your own way, and the quiet exhaustion of translating between two worlds.
Being first-gen often means being the one who figures things out alone, the one everyone else leans on, and the one who's rarely asked what they need. In time that can show up as anxiety, self-doubt, difficulty setting boundaries, or a nagging sense that you have to earn your place—even when you've already proven yourself many times over.
In online or in-person therapy, we work at a pace that helps you feel more grounded and supported as you begin to untangle what's yours to carry and what was never meant to be yours alone.
What first-gen therapy with me looks like
My approach is grounded in a trauma-informed, culturally responsive framework that takes seriously how being first-gen shapes the way you see yourself, your relationships, and your worth.
This means we don't just talk about stress management—we look at where the pressure actually comes from: family expectations, cultural narratives about sacrifice and success, and the survival patterns that helped you get this far but may now be holding you back.
The goal isn't to abandon where you come from—it's to help you feel more grounded, connected to yourself, and able to make choices that are actually yours.
What I help with
I support first-gen clients navigating:
Guilt around boundaries, success, or doing things differently than family expects
Anxiety, overthinking, and chronic self-doubt
Pressure to take care of everyone while losing touch with your own needs
Family expectations and cultural narratives around obligation and sacrifice
Identity-related stress connected to being "the first" or "the one who made it"
Difficulty trusting yourself or feeling like you're never doing enough
Who I work with
I provide online and in-person therapy for first-gen adults and teens, with a focus on supporting:
Latine clients and Chicano/Latinx families
People navigating family system dynamics or cultural expectations
Clients working through trauma or considering EMDR as part of their healing
My APproach
My work is trauma-informed, relational, and culturally responsive. I bring a background in Chicano Studies with a specialization in therapy treating Latinx families—but just as much, I bring an understanding of this experience because I've lived it too.
Sessions are collaborative—you are not expected to explain the basics of your culture or justify why something is hard. We start from a shared understanding and build from there.
About working together
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California, and I'm also first-gen therapist myself.
My educational background is in Chicano Studies, with a Masters specialization in Latinx families—so this work isn't just clinical training for me, it's an extension of what I've studied and lived. I understand the specific weight of being "the black sheep," and the guilt that can come with doing things differently than your family expected, as well as the way cultural and family narratives shape what you believe you owe to everyone else.
I'm also trained in EMDR, which I draw on when it's helpful for processing the deeper patterns underneath that pressure.
My work is shaped by both clinical training and lived experience, and I bring a strong respect for how being first-gen shapes the way people carry pressure, guilt, and the quiet weight of being "the one."
If you're looking for a therapist who understands the first-gen experience from the inside, I invite you to reach out. You don't have to keep figuring it out alone.