About Angelyne.
I go by Angel and I’m a Filipina immigrant. Coming from the Philippines to the United States as a child, I remain bilingual in Tagalog and English.
My family made certain that my Filipino heritage became rooted in America. The Filipino culture is known for being hospitable, helpful, generous with their time and resources, and for their strong family and community values. These are some of my cultural traits and values that have shaped my upbringing and, therefore, my therapy style.
Many of our emotional wounds happened through connections, and our healing can happen through connections.
I believe that therapeutic relationships are naturally healing. I know that our relationship itself does a lot of the work during our important conversations. That’s why I integrate creativity, curiosity, and humor in working with you.
We can grieve your losses and pain. We can be playful and laugh together because you deserve to savor joyous moments. We can celebrate your growth in midst of struggling times. We can share in the humanity of living, just as we do in collectivist communities.
Nature & Mindfulness.
Holding space for others requires me to be present, compassionate, and creative. I spend time in nature hiking, gardening and reading. This helps me to relieve stress as I absorb the restorative elements from nature, allowing me to return to my work with you re-energized and grounded.
I integrate mindfulness activities in our work that can be done indoors and in nature because I understand the health benefits of relying on our senses - sight, touch, hear, smell and taste - and being present in the moment to heal from trauma and strengthen self-attunement, especially during emotionally distressing times. We take our senses wherever we go so why not use them to help ourselves change and feel better.
Culture & Language.
Research has demonstrated that psychotherapy for ethnic-minority clients can be particularly effective if clients' cultural values are integrated into treatment. We can build and maintain secure attachments in relationships when we interweave our cultural customs into exploring multi-cultural intersections.
Research has also found that language plays a great role in how we understand and interpret our emotional experiences. I know first-hand, as English is my third language, the empowerment of speaking and being understood in our native language.
While English is the primary language I use in my work, I offer my services in Tagalog for Filipino/a/x who prefer to speak in their native tongue and for those who prefer to dialogue in both Tagalog and English.
California Love.
I have a Master of Science in Counseling with specializations in Marriage, Family, & Child Counseling and Rehabilitation Counseling.
I’m licensed in the state of California as a Marriage and Family Therapist. My license number is MFC 50370.
I am legally and ethically required to provide therapy services only to clients who are physically located in California.
I work out of Oakland, CA and serve the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Irvine, and all other California cities.
Consulting services and speaking engagements can be offered to agencies and individuals outside of California.
Environmental Influences.
My clinical experience as a therapist and supervisor includes working with children, teens, adults, families, couples, law enforcement, and justice system-involved individuals. My work in educational environments, non-profits, locked residential facilities, and county jails helped me to broaden my clinical knowledge and fine-tune my therapy style throughout my 20+ years in my field.