Therapy for Trauma, Identity, and Marginalized Communities in San Jose and Virtually Throughout California

Supporting BIPOC, new moms and parents, and anyone wishing to navigate life’s challenges with deeper intention and connection.

Therapy

Support Groups

Decolonized Healing

Therapy ⟡ Support Groups ⟡ Decolonized Healing ⟡

What is Space for Kapwa?

Kapwa is a Filipino value that means shared humanity, the deep recognition that we are all connected. It’s at the heart of how we show up as therapists and as people. At our practice, kapwa reminds us that healing doesn’t happen in isolation. We believe therapy should feel like a space where you’re seen, respected, and supported in your full complexity, including your culture, your identities, and the systems you navigate. We ground our work in social justice, decolonization, and the belief that healing is both personal and collective.

Why Choose Us Woman Thinking by Ketut Subiyanto

Why choose us?

Picture this: you’re struggling to find your footing during a time of life transition, such as taking on a new role, adjusting after a big loss, or coming to the hard realization that a life’s worth of accumulated adversity is weighing you down. Your old ways of coping—throwing yourself into work, running away from problems, or bottling up your feelings until you explode—no longer seem to work or feel right to you. You deeply desire to break unhealthy cycles and unlearn self-oppressive values, but you’ve been having trouble making a change. Or perhaps you’ve sought support from another healing practitioner before, but they did not seem to truly understand nor honor your unique experience as someone with marginalized and layered identities.

Filipina smiling by Aris Leoven

Sound familiar?

Space For Kapwa can give you a new experience! We help you to:

  • Build a practice of self-compassion, heal shame, and feel better about your relationships—to yourself and your coping strategies, to other people, and to your community

  • Re-establish safety and connection to the wisdom of your internal system, body, culture, ancestors, and the Living Earth

  • Navigate trauma and systemic oppression with greater courage and confidence

Ready for a new experience with Space For Kapwa?

What we stand for

  • muslim woman and child

    Connection

    We believe that healing happens in relationship—including to ourselves and all the complex layers of our humanity, other people, our local and global communities, our ancestors, and the land we are connected to.

  • woman smiling eyes closed by Roberto Hund

    Liberation

    We see healing as a path toward greater freedom, intentionality, and self-determination—from the individuals we work with to oppressed communities everywhere.

  • nonbinary person guitar by Valeria Blanc

    Social Justice

    We recognize that mental health is deeply shaped by systems of oppression. Our therapists center care, belonging, and equity for people of all identities and lived experiences.

  • brown woman portrait by Tim Newman

    Decolonization

    We take intentional action to resist perpetuating the harm of oppressive systems. This can look like challenging inequities in the client-therapist relationship and honoring your unique and ancestral resilience–not just conforming to what’s been traditionally centered in therapy.

dad son bubbles photo by Ketut Subiyanto

Trauma Healing

We support deep trauma healing through approaches like trauma therapy, EMDR, and IFS/parts work. Whether you're navigating childhood trauma, sexual violence, intimate partner abuse, or the weight of systemic and historical oppression, we offer space to process, heal, and reconnect with your sense of self.

We can help with

Parenthood & Family Life

From perinatal adjustments to birth trauma and the emotional shifts of parenting, we hold space for all stages of family life. We also offer mom groups and parent-centered support that’s grounded in compassion, community, and care.

Identity & Belonging

We center your lived experiences and identities. Kate works with AAPI, BIPOC, and adult/adolescent children of immigrants. Emma supports queer, trans, and non-binary clients. Together, we bring a social justice lens to therapy that honors the fullness of who you are.

Self-Compassion & Growth

Learn how to quiet your inner critic, trust yourself more deeply, and build resilience. We support clients in reconnecting with their own wisdom and developing tools to navigate life with more courage and self-compassion.

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Check Out Our Groups and Workshops

You deserve care that sees the whole you. Our groups and workshops are trauma-informed and center connection, especially for people and communities who’ve been marginalized.

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Read the Blog

Take a deeper dive into the thoughts, hearts, and writings of Space For Kapwa’s therapists!

What people are saying

I felt seen, understood, and better equipped…

"As an AAPI woman and new mom, Kate and her First-Year Moms group were a godsend! Kate provided a safe space to connect with other moms and walked us through ways to decolonize the system that mothers are born into. This group provided an opportunity for me to appreciate my transformation as a woman and as a mother; I felt seen, understood, and better equipped to navigate societal constructs while maintaining my individuality. I am so thankful for Kate's guidance and the strength I gained from everyone in my group."

- Michelle, new mother

I am thankful for the drop-in support group …

"I am thankful for the drop-in support group for Asian American mothers that Kate offers. I really appreciate her facilitation and the way she holds space, and comes from a trauma-informed, heart-centered and decolonizing framework."

- Kirthi, new mother and filmmaker @Cinemagical Media

"I miss our decolonizing mom village sessions. I seriously didn't want them to end!"

- Marley, postpartum mother

Kate was so supportive, patient, sharp, and …

"Seeing Kate, a social justice-oriented Filipina therapist, was game-changing for my healing journey. Kate was so supportive, patient, sharp, and she always empowered me to collaborate with her to personalize my sessions. She guided me through exploring the grief, anxiety, and guilt laden in my academic career, Filipinx family dynamics, and community with such tenderness and compassion. I now have the tools to accept all parts of myself and give each side of me a proper space to be heard and validated. I truly wish for everyone to have an experience of such self-awareness and self-love as I did with Kate’s guidance!"

- Andy, PhD student

* We do not solicit reviews from current clients. All reviews featured are initiated from community members, past clients, or colleagues and are used only with permission. Names have been changed upon request.

Let’s walk this journey together.

You deserve care that sees the whole you. We offer therapy that’s trauma-informed and centered on connection, especially for people and communities who’ve been marginalized.