Being a human can be hard - I can help.

Hey Hi Hello There, if you are reading this it means that you are somewhat curious about the human behind the screen. Hey~ My name is Dina and I am a dual associate marriage and family therapist as well as professional clinical counselor. Which are just fancy terms to mean that I am legally allowed to call myself a therapist lol. More about me, I am of Mexican and Syrian [Latine/x and South West Asian North African (SWANA)] heritages. I am a Queer 1.5 generation immigrant to the United States, born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Southern California. I am an avid collector of all things Kawaii (cute af), pastel, baby and disabled animals, indie/alt rock music, thrift/vintage/estate sale shopper, candle maker (I make floral and citrus soy candles in vintage tea cups because I LOVE ALL STUFF), plus I am an older sister to twin teens, a twin myself (we’re fraternal, I know, WILD?! Two sets of twins!), a loving partner, cat and bunny mom, and some other stuff I will probably reveal as we get to know one another through therapy together! 

Most likely to be found scouting cafes for the best lattes, matchas, and atmospheres. I am a huge fan of independent coffee shops where I can hide away for hours on end, displaying my OOTD, reading and annotating my latest book selection, and chatting it up with loved ones! I am all about creativity, self expression, calling out systems of oppression, and watching Wes Anderson  (check out the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Moonrise Kingdom, and Fantastic Mr. Fox) or Studio Ghibli films (Spirited Away and Ponyo are certified rewatchable in my book). I consider myself an intersectional feminist, in other words I believe that all of us experience a mixture of oppression and privilege based on our culmination of identities. For example, in living the world as a cis gender heterosexual White Christian wealthy man is RADICALLY different than a nonbinary bisexual person of color because of how the society they live in sees each of them as more “valuable, beautiful, trustworthy, etc.). I came to this stance as a naïve community college student experiencing hurtful experiences from others but not having the words to express how or why these experiences hurt. By educating myself, I continue to expand my knowledge on my encounters with close and distant folks. I have found that taking a curious approach to identity, I can best support others to be understood and heard.

 I have experience as a domestic violence (DV)/Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) advocate, survivors of sexual assault peer and supporter, peer specialist for a Muslim youth warmline, and as a researcher on Muslim Converts’ acclimation into Muslim communities as well as treating Women of Color (WOC) with disordered eating behaviors. As you can tell much of my clinical interests come back to identity and body image. Given that I am passionate about healing, my words of wisdom are: Be Who You Needed When You Were Younger.