Goodbye, Kaiser: Grateful for the Growth, Ready for the Next Chapter

I knew this day would come, but knowing it doesn’t make it any easier.

After years of working at Kaiser Permanente, I’m transitioning out of my role and stepping fully into private practice. It’s a bittersweet shift! One filled with grief, gratitude, and deep reflection. To the clients I've had the honor of serving at Kaiser: Thank you. Thank you for trusting me. For letting me into some of the most tender, sacred moments of your lives. For allowing me to witness your suffering, your healing, and your rising. I will carry your stories with me always.

The Weight and Wonder of the Work

Being a therapist means building relationships that aren’t just about clinical treatment, they’re about seeing someone fully, maybe for the first time in their lives. It's a rare kind of intimacy. So walking away from that before the work is truly done IS NOT EASY. In fact, it's one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

There’s a unique heartbreak in knowing someone’s pain, watching them begin to reclaim their power, and then having to step away before that journey is complete. But the truth is, many of us in this field have had to do this more times than we’d like. This is not because we want to, but because the system often leaves us no choice.

My Journey at Kaiser Permanente

When I started at Kaiser, I was hopeful. I knew the limitations of the healthcare system, but I believed in the potential for impact, especially within such a large institution. Over time, I was able to develop and launch a program specifically designed for folks with chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. My clients are people who are too often misunderstood, mislabeled, and almost always underserved.

And in that space, I got to do the work the way I always believed it should be done: consistently, compassionately, and in community. Weekly sessions, trauma-informed care, peer support, building safety and trust brick by brick. It worked. People who had been tossed from provider to provider, told they were "too much" or "non-compliant," finally had a space to heal.

But it wasn’t perfect. The program existed within a structure that still clung tightly to the "medical model." A model that typically allows sessions only every 4-6 weeks. That cadence might work for a sprained ankle or an ear infection. But for deep emotional wounds that have been festering for years, decades even? That’s simply not enough.

Burnout Behind the Scenes

What people don’t always see is what happens behind the therapy door. At Kaiser, like in many healthcare settings, therapists carry caseloads so large that the emotional labor becomes a second full-time job. We are asked to transition clients before they are ready. Not because they’ve met treatment goals, but because the system demands it. That dissonance takes a toll on us. On me!

In 2022, like so many other Kaiser mental health workers, I went on strike. Ten weeks. No income. No guarantee of change. Just the belief that we deserved better and more importantly, that our clients did.

I stood on the picket line alongside some of the most dedicated clinicians I’ve ever met. We took buses to Sacramento to lobby for higher fines when Kaiser failed to meet state-mandated timelines for mental health treatment. We held signs, we chanted, we cried. And still, it was like a drop in the ocean compared to what our colleagues in Southern California endured. So Cal Kaiser therapists were on strike for eight months, surviving wildfires and systemic apathy with sheer resilience and fierce love for the people they serve. I still don’t know how they made it through.

What’s Next: Returning to My Roots

So here I am. Leaving behind a system that taught me a lot... but also stretched me thin. I’m choosing to return to myself. To the work that called me into this field in the first place: community healing.

My private practice is growing, and with it, so is my capacity to show up more fully for people. My focus will be for those who are marginalized, oppressed, and/ or displaced. I want to spend more time with nonprofits doing real, boots-on-the-ground healing. I want to support people directly impacted by legislation that tries to erase or diminish them. I want to be more than a therapist in an office. I want to be a co-conspirator in liberation.

Because therapy is not just about reducing symptoms. It’s about reclaiming power, rewriting narratives, and building the lives we were told we couldn’t have.

Thank You, Truly

To my clients at Kaiser: you have changed me. Watching you rise after all that you’ve been through has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I hope you carry the work we’ve done together with you as you continue to grow. Please know that I will also carry it with deep respect and love.

To my colleagues: I see you. I know how hard you work, how much you give, how often you fight invisible battles just to get your clients the care they deserve. Keep pushing. You are the heartbeat of this field.

And to the community I’m building now, those who have followed my work, reached out, or are considering working with me in this next chapter.. thank you for your trust. I’m ready to meet you where you are, and walk with you toward where you want to be.

Here’s to more space, more soul, and more healing. For all of us!