ACT for Mental Health

Amanda started with ACT for Mental Health in 2018 as a volunteer. Before coming to ACT, Amanda was an elementary teacher. This agency holds a special place in her heart; to her, the ACT team is deeply committed to supporting each other and clients with warmth and compassion. As a therapist, she deeply appreciates the opportunity to be a part of the client’s stories as she strives to build genuine relationships with them. She values the power of creativity and expressive arts as a way to engage with and cultivate compassion around one’s experience. She enjoys spending her time with her two cats, hiking, practicing qigong, watching anime, reading and creating art. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy and an MA in Marriage and Family Therapy. "Go back and take care of yourself. Your body needs you; your feelings need you; your perceptions need you. Your suffering needs you to acknowledge it. Go home and be there for all these things." -Thich Nhat Hanh"

Anjana started her journey with ACT in 2015 when she volunteered with the Fireside Friendship Club, and with reunification therapy. She has a Masters in Psychological Counseling from Bangalore University (India) and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Psychology, Education and Community from Northeastern University (Boston, MA). She completed her MSW from Simmons University in 2020 and has been an Associate clinical Social Worker with the agency since April 2020. Having grown up in India, Anjana is interested in understanding cultural diversity and the role that it plays in therapy. Anjana has worked with different populations in India and the US ranging from children as young as 4 to adults. She takes on an eclectic approach drawing on multiple techniques and approaches as fits the client and situation. She believes in "meeting the client where they are"; and has a strengths based supportive orientation.

Originally from Vietnam, Anna came to the United States as a teenager. She was working as a research and development engineer for 20 years and decided to leave the tech industry to find her new passion in cultivating understanding, kindness, and compassion toward those who are affected by mental illness. Anna has been working at ACT for Mental health since 2017 and resonates with the agency’s mission and value which is to support the community by providing quality mental health services. She feels fortunate to work with a team of dedicated and caring therapists who share the same passion of serving low-income clients and those who are caught in the court system. She holds a PsyD, M.A. in Pastoral Ministry, and M.S. in Computer Science. “We [as clients and therapists] are challenged to take from what came before, regardless of the source, synthesize what seems useful, and move on to the new realms” Karen Horney.

Asminda A. Sousa has been working at ACT since 2007 as MHRC. She has over 35 years of experience in clinical psychology working with the Spanish speaking community, victims of domestic violence, court cases, co-parenting classes, parenting classes, anger management for children, working with children, adolescents, adults, and LGBT community as victims of homophobia.

Hello, I have a Masters Degree in Social Work and registered as an Associate Clinical Social Worker in the state of California. As a therapist, I value using a collaborative and supportive approach to further explore and help identify thoughts, emotions and behavioral patterns that are impacting mental wellness. I have diverse experience working in the mental health field, providing individual and group psychotherapy. My career has included providing direct services to survivors of domestic violence, foster youth, individuals involved in the legal system, the specialty population and veterans. I enjoy using an integrative framework that includes various modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Supportive Therapy, while maintaining a strenghts-based, person-in-environment and collaborative approach.

Ella is a current intern who started her journey with ACT in September 2022. She has degrees consisting of a Bachelor of Arts - Social Work degree, Associate of Arts - Social Behavioral Science, and Associate of Arts – Liberal Arts degree, and is currently a 1st year MSW student working towards the completion of a Master of Social Work degree from San Jose State University. She has previously volunteered at a Women’s and Children’s shelter – Inn Vision for six months. Her academic affiliations - she is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi since 2021. She is a passionate individual who demonstrates skills in advocating and empowering those who are disfranchised, oppressed, stigmatized, and marginalized within surrounding communities. The multicultural populations that she has assisted consist of working with youth, adults, and older adults. She continually embraces new challenges in her life, currently has twenty-one months of experience as a social work intern, and enjoys supporting and working with diverse culturally multidimensional populations by promoting social justice. She is a very spiritual individual and believes it is important to continually stay grounded within and find one's center. She also enjoys being near the ocean and spending time in nature at its finest whenever time permits. Ella continues to empower and support disadvantaged/marginalized populations, in order to instill a sense of hope in their lives. Ella believes that if she is able to reach just one person at a time, she is then able to make a true difference in the outcome of their life....a life that has purpose and meaning.

Graham graduated from his Counseling Psychology Masters in 2009 and got his Marriage and Family Therapy license in December 2012. Most of his (post-license) early work was done at ACT for Mental Health. He also spent 18 months in 2017/8 with Uplift Family Services, which mainly serves children. More recently most of his working time has been with Our Common Ground in East Palo Alto (it provides treatment for adults with substance use disorders) but Graham still accepts a few clients under ACT auspices, mainly couples. Graham is 68. In an earlier life he worked as a chemist for a company that manufactured marine paint, for about 30 years.

Ken Parker is the Program Manager at ACT and began with the agency in April 2017. He is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. He earned his Master’s & Doctorate degrees from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. Major area of study was Clinical Psychology with a minor in Community Psychology. Career highlights include Coordinator of The Adolescents & Families Project, a 5-yr treatment research study at UCSF as funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Primary professional activities have included program development, management, and evaluation. He has had grant proposals funded at all governmental levels as well as foundations and corporations. Clinical approach is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) within a family/community systems perspective. Duties at ACT have included contract development/management, clinical supervision, and therapy. He was responsible for a major Project as funded by the El Camino Hospital Foundation. Project aimed to identify, obtain referrals, and provide counseling for Latinx clients who were unable to access behavioral health services due to lack of health care coverage. Results of pre/post analyses found significant reduction in stress as reported by counseling-participants. At ACT he provides counseling for individuals, couples & families. Lastly, he still loves dinosaurs, SF Giants, and PB&J.

I grew up in the northeast U.S. and Los Angeles, and got my B.A. in Music Composition from UC Santa Barbara. I received my MSW (Masters in Social Work) from UC Berkeley in 1968 and, after obtaining my LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) certificate in 1982 and working in community mental health for Santa Clara county until 1995, I came to ACT for Mental Health a couple of years later, where I’ve been the Clinical Director since about 2010. Since 1982, I supervised interns for their field work experience in counseling, social work and psychology. In my clinical practice, I make use of elements of psychoanalytic, developmental and existential theory, often as reflected in cultural expressions of TV and film to help clients with the challenges of modern life.

Natalie is currently working on completing a MA in Counseling at Palo Alto University. She has a Bachelor’s in Psychology and completed two postgraduate qualifications in Evidence-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in the UK, her home country. Natalie is passionate about improving access to quality, personalized mental health care services. She aims to provide a compassionate, collaborative and curious space to support clients to explore their experiences. She takes an integrative approach, tailoring sessions to meet the needs of each client, primarily drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Person-Centered approaches. In her free time, she enjoys walking and being outside in nature, spending time with loved ones and her two cats, reading and finding good coffee spots.

Tien is a native Vietnamese who came to the United States as a teenager. He was involved in church settings for nearly 20 years. He has lived and worked in Southeast Asia and Pacific for 6 years. Tien has been working at ACT for Mental Health since December 2018. He is grateful to work with other therapists at ACT and to serve low-income clients. Tien holds a PsyD, MTh, MDiv, MA in Theology, Spirituality, and Pastoral Ministry.