Welcome, I’m Mallory, and I’m honored to meet you here, exactly where you are.

My Story…

As a highly sensitive, deeply feeling kid, I felt isolated in my big feelings and desperate to understand why I felt so out of place. Throughout my childhood, my profound sensitivity made me feel ostracized, and I began to equate vulnerability with shame. I tucked away my traumas and all the parts of me that felt too hard to love. I searched for meaning in the world around me and began neglecting the rich world inside of me. I learned how and who to be to fit in. I became skilled at crafting masks so that I could hide in plain sight.

I spent most of my young adulthood searching for my own face. There were times when I couldn’t see it reflected anywhere around me, when no one I surrounded myself with could tell me what it looked like, either. I thought I would find it if I became successful enough, if I was funny enough, if I gave enough, if I was loved enough. By the time I turned 30, I had simply had, well, enough. I devoted the next few years of my life to healing, a journey that was as brutal as it was beautiful, and one that ultimately led me back home to my authentic Self.

The journey home wasn’t linear. I moved forward and backward, sideways, I learned new ways of moving. I changed my mind and changed it back again. I learned how to feel safe in my body and how to nurture and protect my energy. I learned to say “yes” when it was hard and “no” when it was important. I discovered the incredible strength in my vulnerability, and it was there in my softness that I discovered the bravery to be seen and to see myself.

My Philosophy

I believe that healing and growth are born of connection: connection to ourselves and to others. As a relational therapist, I prioritize the unique alliance cultivated with each client, and uphold it as the space where you will feel seen, understood, and valued for who you truly are.

If, like me, you have been searching your life for your own face, know that you will find it in the room with me. I will hold a mirror for you and help you recognize, nurture, and love the person you see reflected.

I utilize a psychodynamic approach that encourages the examination of how our inner and outer worlds work together to define our experiences. My work sits securely on a foundation of attachment theory (pun intended) and is heavily influenced by Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Carl Rogers’ humanistic theory of Self.

What it’s Like to Work with Me

Here is what you can expect when you sit down with me:

  • You’ll meet a real person, not a blank slate, who is deeply and sincerely interested in your story.

  • We will spend time fostering connection and ensuring you feel seen and understood.

  • I will hold myself to the same standards I ask of you, which means we will both show up with authenticity and vulnerability.

  • Humor will be part of the process because I just promised you that I would show up as my authentic self.

  • Every part of you is welcome in the room with us, even the parts you have exiled, and together we will foster connection with them, too. We will shine a warm light on every corner of shame until there is nothing left behind in the shadows.

  • Yes, we will talk about your childhood. Yes, it matters.

  • We will get intimate with your real, raw emotions and learn to call them by their names. We will celebrate the complex and beautiful network of sensitivities and experiences that make you, you.

  • I will honor you as the expert of your own life and collaborate with you on what your therapeutic journey looks like.

Specialties

While I am experienced in working with a wide variety of issues, these are the areas to which I feel deeply connected and have focused additional energy toward expanding my knowledge and expertise:

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD):

Living with PMDD can leave us feeling isolated and powerless. Often, we feel betrayed by our own bodies and disconnected from who we truly are. My passion for working with individuals with PMDD is based on my intimate understanding of what it is like to suffer in silence and shame, to be invalidated by medical professionals insisting that this emotional and physical agony is just part of being a woman or AFAB person. My work with PMDD is first and foremost trauma informed. We will work on healing not just the wounds left behind in PMDD’s often destructive wake, but the wounds that precipitated and influenced PMDD. I utilize Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help you empower your Self to lead all the parts of you into harmony and balance.

Couples Counseling:

We all bring our own unique experiences to our relationships, and sometimes this can leave us with a love story that starts to lose the plot. Through couples therapy, we can deconstruct the stories that are keeping you from being wholly connected and write a new story together using the shared language of your relationship. We can learn new ways of communicating and break free of the cycles that are keeping problems in place, foster true intimacy and safety by cultivating a secure attachment, and honor how brave it is to share your life with another person. My work with couples is influenced by Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Relational Life Therapy (RLT), and Imago Relationship Therapy.

Self-Esteem and Identity:

At our core, we all have a Self that is capable, compassionate, and flexible. As we experience the world around us, we develop an intricate network of protective and wounded parts that can take over the system and keep us from feeling connected to our authentic Self. In psychotherapy, we can unravel this system and get to know our parts, and lovingly move them into more functional roles that empower the Self to lead.

Trauma-Informed Therapy and EMDR:

Trauma is not what happens to us, it is what happens inside of us in response to what happens to us. As a trauma-informed psychotherapist, I contextualize treatment based on your history and triggers, carefully considering the impact of what has happened to you on your inherent sensitivities. I am also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a therapy that facilitates adaptive resolutions to traumatic experiences.

 

 Now that we have officially met, here’s all the nitty gritty details:

  • In 2009, I graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

  • Over the next several years, I worked my way up the state of California and a few different corporate ladders. By 2016, I was working in human resources managing the talent acquisition program for a nonprofit organization that develops technology solutions to connect people to social services and support.  

  • In 2017, I began my own personal therapy journey, which was the catalyst for healing, change, and growth that led me to my own career as a psychotherapist.

  • In 2019, I was accepted into the Master of Arts Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy program at Brandman University’s School of Arts and Sciences.

  • In early 2021, I began my practicum at Hearts and Hands Counseling in Roseville, California, a nonprofit counseling agency offering accessible psychotherapy services to individuals, couples, and families from diverse backgrounds.

  • In August 2021, I earned my Master of Arts in Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy from Brandman University. I also completed my EMDR training, which afforded me the knowledge and skills to deepen the way I understand and treat trauma.

  • In December 2021, I became a Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (#12969) and continued practicing at Hearts and Hands Counseling as an associate therapist.

  • In September 2023, I joined The Path Wellness Center practicing under Dr. Kimberly Ciardella.

So, what does this long list of experiences and training mean to you?

It means that I can help. This work is my calling, and I am ready to support you on your journey home.