Being multi-ethnic and growing up in San Diego, CA, I had the opportunity to interact with many diverse cultures. I am passionate about race, cultural, socioeconomic, and equity issues due to my personal experiences and empathizing with others’ experiences. The intersectionality of what makes us unique can also compound our lived experiences. I am committed to continuously learning about the impacts of marginalized communities and supporting those that are systemically oppressed.
My approach is to collaboratively work with individuals and meet them where they are on their physical and mental health journey. I provide a person-centered, humanistic, and collaborative
nutritionist
Mental health counselor
Psychology, pH.d. candidate
Meet Tara
Welcome
(she/her)
approach in working with clients. I have found there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and I focus on partnering with each individual to build body trust, respect, and compassion for ourselves. This approach creates a more peaceful and joyous relationship with ourselves and others.
My goal is to support individuals on their healing journey in understanding of their life experiences. I am honored to do this work and look forward to the opportunity to work with you.
How I Work
Session Fees
I do not take insurance at this time.
$155 per individual counseling session.
$125 per individual nutritional session.
People I serve in WA state
Individual adults and teens 14+.
Offering telehealth therapy and nutritional services in Washington state
"It's not about perfection. Its' about the connection."
- Unknown
I completed my Master's in Integrative and Functional Nutrition. While in school, it also came to my attention how diet culture impacted my family upbringing, leading to disordered eating and disconnection from my Filipinx culture. Body shaming in our culture has become normalized that we anticipate it in family gatherings. When we ask our elders why does our culture body shame? They respond with, "That's just the way it's always been." Filipinx peoples have been colonized for almost 400 years, and generations have been taught that our culture is inferior to our colonizers. Because of this inferior thinking among the Filipinx American community, diet culture has become our way of living. Diet culture in the United States is "pervasive norms that emphasize thinness, control, and restriction around eating and exercise behaviors, and the moralization of how food plays a significant role in contributing to body dissatisfaction" (Faw et al., 2021).
Body dissatisfaction is associated with a host of adverse health outcomes, such as increased risks of depression and anxiety and lower levels of self-esteem. These learnings and awareness have encouraged me to further my education by obtaining a psychology research degree to understand the impacts of mental health further and change the narrative around body dissatisfaction.
Professional Journey
More about Tara
Tara
Why does this Matter?
I am passionate about utilizing these learnings and tools with my clients looking to decolonize their mentality around food and body image.
I was born and raised in sunny San Diego, CA. After marrying my husband, we decided to move to the Pacific Northwest. Since then, we have traveled around the world and enjoy spending time with our two Rhodesian Ridgeback fur babies. I am happy to meet you virtually!
With gratitude,
In December 2023, I completed a M.A. Clinical Psychology degree in December 2023. I’m currently completing a Humanistic Psychology Ph.D. degree, conducting research addressing trauma experiences influencing eating behaviors and lifestyle choices that can affect mental health in communities of color.
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My morning routine use to consist of turning off my alarm, grabbing my phone to catch up on email, news, and social media. There was this constant feeling that I needed to catch up on everything, which increased my stress levels before I got out of bed.
how do you start your day?
02/05
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A Walk by the ocean
03/05
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Handmade soaps
04/05
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Handmade soaps
05/05
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Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Vivamus non erat in ipsum viverra tempus. Sed ac odio sit amet quam rhoncus euismod. Duis congue laoreet augue, vel malesuada dui volutpat sit amet. In malesuada augue est, nec suscipit turpis scelerisque sit amet. In eleifend mi purus.
Handmade soaps
My Morning Routine
GET TO KNOW
- Agnes Constante
"The impact of the value placed on Eurocentric features, such as lighter skin is a prominent example of the repercussions of the Philippines' colonial history on Filipinx American mental health."