ABOUT ME
My Story
I’m Kaira, a NYC-based psychotherapist and psychedelic guide specializing in supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals and adult children of immigrants. I provide a unique approach to therapy, integrating psychotherapy and sacred plant medicines as powerful tools for deeper healing.
Having lived in a perpetual state of disconnectedness and operating on auto-pilot for far too long, I embarked on a profound journey of self-inquiry. I struggled with persistent brain fog, dissociative episodes, and uncontrollable anger, leaving me unable to form emotional connections with those around me. Within the confines of my own constructed walls, I felt utterly alone.
What initially seemed like hitting rock bottom became the catalyst for my personal healing and transformation. In the process, I discovered that true healing was attainable, but only by bravely confronting the pain I had been hiding from within myself. Through this journey, I realized the immense joy of accompanying others on their own paths towards wholeness.
My Path and Perspective
I truly believe that who we are at our core often gets buried under the "shoulds" we learned as kids. Childhood is where we first pick up our survival scripts…how to stay quiet, how to please others, or how to ignore our own boundaries just to fit in. My work is about helping you see those old patterns for what they are: outdated programming. Once we recognize those connections, we can stop just repeating the past and start living a life that actually feels like yours.
My own journey of unlearning led me to New York University for my Bachelor and Master of Social Work, and eventually into the world of expanded consciousness. I’ve trained deeply in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute and MAPS, specializing in MDMA and Psilocybin because these medicines can be such powerful catalysts for shedding the layers that no longer serve us. To further support this process of clearing out the old, I also received my training to work with Kambo through Cosmovisions Inc, focusing on the physical and energetic release of what keeps us stuck.
I’ve held space for people in all walks of life—from supporting children in Argentina to navigating the heavy complexities of forensic social work in the NYC justice system, and sitting with adults in community mental health and retreats across New York. These spaces might seem worlds apart, but in all of them, I saw the same thread: the ways we learn to tuck our true selves away just to get through the day.
I’m not just a clinician; I’m a human who gets it. I’m a cisgendered, multiracial, queer woman and a first generation American born to a Filipino mother and Puerto Rican father. Growing up in a single parent, working class home, I learned the weight of self sacrifice early on. I saw how easily we can become "the reliable one" or "the strong one" while our own desires sit on the back burner.
I know the specific, quiet struggle of trying to find your own voice within a culture that often expects you to stay small or stay "good."
I understand the guilt that comes with choosing yourself and the courage it takes to break a cycle of people pleasing that has been generations in the making. My path hasn't just been about studying therapy; it has been about my own journey of reclaiming my power and learning that living authentically is the most radical thing we can do.
When I’m not working as a therapist or a Filipino and Taino reconstructionist, you’ll likely find me nurturing my two tuxedo cats, Lunar and Lucy.
My heart is in uplifting communities of color. I’m here to help you dismantle the beliefs that hold you back so you can reclaim your inherent worth and live your most unapologetic, authentic life.
If my vibe resonates with you, let’s talk. You can self schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation with me here.
