Kim Pia

Hi there, my name is Kim; I’m a Registered Associate Marriage & Family Therapist. I help individuals, couples, and families cultivate better relationships with themselves and with each other. The quality of our relationships can deeply impact the quality of our lives. Whether it is grief, betrayal, trauma, or accumulated miscommunications and misunderstandings, a frayed relationship with the people that we hold most dear can be some of the deepest pain that a person can experience. I believe that humans begin to thrive when we are in safe and meaningful connection with those that are important to us. This is why I focus my work on healing relational wounds.

I Support Clients with:

• Relationship challenges of all kinds

• Family estrangement

• Ambiguous loss

• Complex trauma

• Substance use in the family system

• Grief

• Shame and self-criticism 

What Our Work Will Look Like: 

Couples:

When I work with couples, we practice identifying the unspoken feelings and unmet needs that underlie arguments and miscommunications. I provide coaching on how to best convey these feelings and needs in a way that the other person can hear. We also identify patterns of relating that have left couples mired in dissatisfaction, disconnection and/or conflict. In couples therapy we will interrupt stuck patterns, practice effective communication skills, and each partner will introspect on what they bring to the dynamic. All this work builds the foundation of understanding from which a more gratifying relationship can emerge. I aim to give couples the space and time to find each other again.

Individuals:

People who have experienced accumulated traumas, misattunement from loved ones, traumatic invalidation, and/or chronic stress on their family system often experience shame, self-criticism, and self-doubt. Another common experience is a pervasive sense of loss, anger, and sadness that the world does not recognize as grief. This is called ambiguous loss. I work with people to heal their relational wounds and forge a better relationship with themselves as well as explore how to have safe and gratifying relationships with others. In individual work, I help my clients process emotions and experiences, bolster coping skills, and find self-compassion, as well as learn how to be in connection with others without losing a sense of self. 

Background

I draw from 10 years of experience as a yoga teacher to inform my work as a therapist. When appropriate, I use somatic exploration to help clients begin to understand experiences that may be beyond words. In addition, I help my clients tend to their bodies when they get dysregulated in session. 

Education

• B.A. English | Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

• M.S. Counseling Psychology | Dominican University of California

Learn more at:https://www.kimpiatherapy.com

Reach out: kimpiatherapy@gmail.com or 707.861.0194