My bio

Hello! My name is Inga. I am [at least] 5th generation Scots-Irish-Norweigan american. Originally from the Bay, the unceded territory of the Ohlone, where I was born and raised as the youngest of four and to parents with their own wounds and struggles. As an adult, I relocated to the unceded land of the Awaswas, what we colonists call Santa Cruz. Creating my own family in a new location and with a generational emotional inheritance I continue to learn from. 

I attempted college at many different times in my life but it was in my late thirties when college and me finally stuck together. 

I returned as a 're-entry' student, married and with three growing kids. I started out at a local junior college when my youngest child entered the public school system. After two years of intense course work, I completed my AS and transferred to a four year university, The University of California, at Santa Cruz. In two more years I graduated with my  Bachelor's degree in Feminist Studies, with a focus in Science, Medicine and Technology. This was a unique program, and at the time, one of a few in the country. Unfortunately, this major has been dismantled in 2025.

I have always been curious about how we understand ourselves and our relationships, how we conceptualize Self and/in society. During undergrad I was able to ask questions these questions; how have we learned to navigate and negotiate the many systems of a society, from the family systems we are born into to the broader social conditions, whether in the United States or another country. Feminist Studies scholarship provided a container to engage in dialogue and historical practices that involve systems thinking, critical thinking and intersectionality. 

I continued to explore these questions as I entered my master's program. I was happy that college and I were still going strong and in three more years I received my Master's in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco.

After graduating with my master's, I continued to pursue my interests and questions about Self in society, this time with a focus on trauma. I have formal training in 3 post-master's programs on the neurophysiology of trauma and it's myriad intra- and inter-personal impacts from birth through adulthood. These are: Somatic Experiencing, EMDR and NeuroAffective Touch. I have also been mentored and supervised by a Relational Gestalt therapist for five years. These modailities form my clinical foundation and I welcome your questions about what all these words mean.  

Education:

Master's Counseling Psychology, University of San Francisco

Bachelor's Feminist Studies, University of California at Santa Cruz

Internships:

Domestic Violence and Child Advocate, Walnut Avenue Family and Women's Center, 

Professional Trainings:

Perinatal Mental Health, Post-Partum Support International, Trained 

Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing International 

EMDR - Trained, EMDRIA 

NeuroAffective Touch, Trained, NeuroAffective Touch Institute

Trauma Informed Sex Positive Therapy, certificate, Melissa Fritchle, LMFT

Professional Affiliations:

Post-Partum Support International, Member

California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), Member

Santa Cruz Chapter of CAMFT, Member

United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP), Member

Northern California Somatic Experiencing Professional Association, (NorCal SEPA), Member

"The Personal is Political." - Audrey Lord