Specialties
Growing up in an immigrant household is its own experience of life, and one you may want your therapist to be able to relate to.
Your family has certain ideas about what is right and how to live your life. You grew up in a place with different values. Most of the people around you have no idea how different your upbringing was from theirs.
Between two cultures
Feeling stuck between being authentic and meeting expectations
What your family expects, what the culture around you rewards, and what you actually want seldom say the same thing. Somewhere in that noise is your own voice. Being honest costs you closeness, keeping the peace costs you yourself, and there does not seem to be a version where you get both.
Not feeling fully part of either culture that you hold
You grew up wanting to fit into American culture. Now you find yourself too American for your family and sometimes not quite American enough in your relationships. Whether you call yourself first generation or second generation, that in-between is a real place to live, and it is often a lonely one because nobody around you names it.
Being the bridge between cultures for your family
You may have translated, explained the letters, and become independent early because there was no other option.
Facing prejudice or racism that still shapes how you see yourself and the world
Maybe you sense that you have to work twice as hard to get to the same place as everyone else, and that there is a question about whether you actually belong in the room you worked to get into.
Being the first generation in your family to reach certain achievements
Maybe you are the first person in your family to graduate from college, or the first to enter a profession no one around you has worked in. There is no one to call for advice about the things you are figuring out, and the people who are proudest of you understand the least about what your days actually look like.
You don’t have to do it alone
There are some things that are easier to go through with support.
Therapy may help you:
This is a starting point, not a limit. The work is always shaped around what matters to you.
Hi, I’m Dhespina!
I’m an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, and therapy with me is exploratory and collaborative, with room for reflection, humour, and unexpected moments of insight. I support you in reconnecting with the part of yourself that knows what you need and how you want to heal, even when that part feels difficult to access.
I have trained in Gestalt, Internal Family Systems, and Hakomi Therapy. My approach is relational, somatic, and trauma-informed. This means I do not see therapy as simply a place to talk, but as a space where you can experience new feelings, perspectives, and ways of relating to yourself and others.
My fee is $200 on a sliding scale down to $120. I also hold 2 low-fee slots at $60 for people facing financial difficulty from unemployment or being a student. If cost is a barrier, please ask.
In the first fifteen minutes, you can tell me a little about what’s bringing you to therapy now, we can get a sense of whether working together feels right, and you can ask any questions you have.
Book a free 15-minute callOr send me a message first.