THERAPY
FOR ITALIANS
& ITALO-AMERICANS
Integrate Your Roots.
Amplify Your Impact.
Bilingual and Bicultural therapy for high-achieving Italians, Italian-Americans, mixed-culture couples, and members of the Italian diaspora in California.
SERVING THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, SILICON VALLEY, LOS ANGELES, AND ONLINE ACROSS CA
Is it out of reach to unlock the full power of your dual identity and build authentic success deeply rooted in who you truly are?
Two World. One Self.
LET’S FACE IT
Whether you arrived five years ago or your grandparents did generations back, the search for where you truly belong persists.
You might be a success story—a leader, a founder, a high-achieving professional in California. You've mastered the American game, building a life and career you're proud of. Yet, a quiet ache lingers…
…La Mancanza
You’re grappling with a specific kind of grief. You’re not just homesick — it’s the profound, untranslatable ache of mancanza: that deep and ambiguous sense of dislocation and loss for the things you miss most —
The natural, passed-down gestures.
The humor that lands effortlessly in a room.
The warmth of family that fills the space before anyone speaks.
The ease of being understood without having to explain yourself.
Over time, the effort to truly belong in both worlds can lead to exhaustion, chronic guilt, and a nagging question:
Have I lost touch with the part of me that feels most alive and authentic?
What High-Achieving Bicultural Italians Often Face
Identity & Belonging
You feel like you don’t fully belong anywhere—not fully Italian, not fully American.
You struggle to express feelings that don’t translate neatly into English.
You worry your children will lose their Italian language and identity (or that you already have).
You grew up in a culture where i panni sporchi si lavano in casa—dirty laundry is washed at home. Seeking therapy can clash with the belief that struggles should be managed with pride (orgoglio), leaving you isolated when anxiety or conflict arise.
Relationships & Expression
Your natural Italian passion and expressiveness are often judged as “too much.”
You carry chronic guilt for “leaving” aging parents or relatives, or for wanting healthy space when they are near.
You have constant misunderstandings with your partner about cultural expectations and family boundaries.
You feel pressure to maintain la bella figura — composure, grace, and success — while quietly battling burnout, anxiety, or perfectionism.
If you’re nodding,
you’re not imagining any of this…
This is what it feels like to live between worlds — not just managing stress but navigating a core identity conflict.
Whether you came here five years ago or your grandparents did generations ago, the longing is the same:
To regain that missing sense of radici,
to feel whole, to be seen — a casa in your own skin.
This demands a culturally specific solution —
a therapist who understands both worlds
and the quiet fatigue of holding them together.
A place where the Italian heart and the high-achieving mind can finally reconcile.
ONLINE THERAPY FOR ITALIANS AND ITALIAN-AMERICANS
Navigating Two Worlds: Therapy that Honors Your Identity.
Therapy is where adaptation ends and authenticity begins. This is a space where you don’t have to translate yourself or fare bella figura.
Here, you can let go and speak freely — in Italian, in English, or somewhere in between — and feel understood in the language of your heart.
This is a place to reconnect and make sense of the stories that shaped you. Together we explore the intersection of identity, culture, and emotion so you can integrate both identities with clarity, pride, and ease—and let life here feel not just successful, but whole.
Therapy for Italians and Italian-Americans isn’t about erasing one culture or over-identifying with the other. It’s about integration — learning to carry both identities with clarity, pride, and ease.
When your inner world and cultural identity finally align, your decisions sharpen, your relationships deepen, and your success becomes truly sustainable.
How It Works
Therapy for bicultural Italians means you spend energy healing, not explaining. You access emotions in your native language. You work with someone who already knows the context—the weight of la bella figura, the guilt of leaving family, the exhaustion of code-switching, the ache of mancanza.
As a Veneto-Sardinian LMFT in California, I've navigated this exact complexity—building a meaningful life and career across cultures while honoring both identities. Now I help others do the same.
Together, we focus on three things:
IDENTITY INTEGRATION
Reclaim the authentic parts of yourself that went quiet to fit in. Stop choosing between Italian and American—integrate both with clarity and ease.RELATIONAL BALANCE
Navigate family expectations, partner dynamics, and intergenerational patterns without drowning in obligation or guilt.EMOTIONAL RENEWAL
Release the pressure to perform composure. Build a life that feels whole, not just impressive.
How do I know if this is right for me?
Find clarity, connection, and emotional grounding — without losing the parts of you that make you Italian.
Find clarity, connection, and emotional grounding — without losing the parts of you that make you Italian.
THERAPY FOR HIGH ACHIEVING ITALIANS AND ITALIAN AMERICANS
Therapy for Italians and Italian-Americans
Can Help You:
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You'll recognize when you're code-switching on autopilot versus expressing your true self. We'll work on giving yourself permission to show up fully in both worlds—without constantly adjusting, translating, or dimming your natural expressiveness to fit in. You'll learn to distinguish between thoughtful adaptation and exhausting performance.
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You'll learn to navigate the guilt of living far from aging parents, choosing your own path, or building a life that looks different from what your family expected. You'll honor your needs—whether that's needing space, setting limits on Sunday dinners, or making choices your family doesn't understand—without feeling like you've betrayed your heritage or failed as a son/daughter.
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You'll develop language to explain why la bella figura matters, what mancanza actually feels like, or why your mother's comment hit you differently than your partner thinks. Instead of constant surface-level explaining, you'll create real intimacy by helping your partner see the cultural context that shapes your emotions and reactions.
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You'll learn to pass down Italian warmth, humor, and values without the pressure, shame, or fear that shaped your own upbringing. Your children will get roots without the weight—a connection to their heritage that feels like a gift, not a burden. You'll break the intergenerational patterns that no longer serve.
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You'll know what to keep and what to release. Keep the Sunday dinners that nourish you, release the obligation that suffocates you. Maintain closeness with family without drowning in their expectations. You'll do this without feeling like a traitor to your culture or your people.
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You'll learn to achieve, lead, and build your career while letting go of the exhausting need to prove you've earned your place here. Your accomplishments become yours—not evidence you belong, not compensation for being "other," just... yours. The performance ends. The work continues, but lighter.
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You'll feel and express yourself authentically—in Italian, in English, in the messy in-between—without losing meaning in translation. We'll work on naming what you feel accurately and expressing it fully, so you're no longer trapped by language limitations or cultural codes that silence certain emotions.
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For couples: You'll create shared rituals, values, and ways of being together that honor both your cultural backgrounds. Neither of you will need to minimize who you are or default to one culture's "correct" way. You'll build a third culture—uniquely yours—where both of you can be fully seen and loved.
What it’s like to work with me
You don’t have to live divided.
It's possible to feel a casa—at home—in yourself, no matter where you are. To move through life with the calm confidence that comes from knowing your roots are not lost; they've simply grown wider.
Together, we'll reconnect you with the emotional wealth that makes Italian life so vibrant—depth, connection, passion—and integrate it into your California life.
You can be your unique self.
You can be whole.
WELCOME HOME.
READY TO BEGIN?
faqs
Common Questions About Therapy for Entrepreneurs & Executives
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I work with Italian immigrants, first-generation Italian-Americans (children of immigrants), second-generation, third-generation, and members of the Italian diaspora. My clients are typically high achievers—entrepreneurs, founders, business owners, executives, professionals, philanthropists, and academics across industries—who are navigating bicultural identity while building meaningful careers and relationships in California.
I also work with couples where one or both partners are Italian or Italian-American. Learn more about my approach to Couples Therapy and Couples Therapy Intensives, and Therapy for Entrepreneurs & Executives.
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No. Whether you're fluent in Italian, speak only English, understand some Italian but don't speak it, or code-switch between both—this work is for you. Many second and third-generation Italian-Americans have lost fluency but still carry Italian cultural values, family dynamics, and that sense of living between worlds.
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Absolutely.This work is designed for all generations of the Italian diaspora living in California. Bicultural identity challenges don't disappear across generations—they evolve and often become more complex. For second and third-generation Italian-Americans, this can manifest as:
The struggle of feeling "not Italian enough" while also not fully American.
A sense of guilt or distance related to losing language and traditions.
A desire to reclaim a heritage that was never fully experienced.
This work provides a structure to honor your roots, understand your inter-generational patterns, and define what being Italian-American means to you.
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Yes — I work with couples navigating cultural, emotional, or family-role differences. Whether you’re both Italian or in a mixed-culture relationship, therapy provides a bilingual emotional space to translate values, repair miscommunication, and rebuild connection. Click here to learn more about Couples Therapy and Couples Therapy Intensives.
Part of therapy for bicultural couples involves helping your non-Italian partner understand the cultural context that shapes your emotions, family dynamics, and values—why la bella figura matters, what mancanza feels like, why certain family expectations carry the weight they do. We create a shared language so both of you can be seen and understood.
We also work with couples raising bicultural and bilingual children. We address the complexities of parenting across two cultures, including navigating language acquisition, differing discipline styles, managing expectations from both extended families, and fostering the child's secure sense of bicultural identity and belonging.
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Common concerns clients bring include general challenges like anxiety, depression, burnout, relationship problems, and family conflict.
Crucially, we also address culturally-specific challenges that require an expert eye:
Feeling rootless or split between two cultures.
Carrying guilt toward aging parents or family in Italy.
Navigating high performance and achievement at the cost of well-being (fare bella figura).
Suppressed emotional range and gender/family role expectations.
Raising bicultural children and helping non-Italian partners understand cultural context.
These are all welcome topics here.
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Not only possible—essential. True performance isn’t fueled by depletion but by integration. As we build what I call emotional wealth, you’ll notice greater steadiness, creativity, and clarity. You don’t lose your edge; you simply stop cutting yourself with it.
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Online therapy for Entrepreneurs and Executives in California is structured but reflective.
We focus on insight that leads to action, not endless analysis. You’ll learn to pause long enough to see the patterns driving exhaustion or disconnection, then translate that awareness into practical change—in how you lead, relate, and live.
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Very much so. Many Italians and Italian-Americans in California are high achievers — professionals, founders, creatives, or academics — who have learned to equate worth with performance. Yet fare bella figura can become exhausting when success looks impressive but feels empty.
Therapy helps you realign achievement with authenticity — staying ambitious without burning out, and finding satisfaction that feels as good inside as it looks outside. Learn more about Therapy for Entrepreneurs & Executives
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My approach integrates Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Attachment Theory, and Narrative Therapy—all carefully adapted to honor Italian and Mediterranean cultural values. This means we move beyond generic Western frameworks to integrate evidence-based methods with a profound understanding of your family systems, identity, and what it means to live between worlds, ensuring our work is relevant and deeply effective for the Italian diaspora.