When we are struggling in life, feeling stuck, hurt, confused, or alone, we all deserve a place to talk with someone who we know will not judge or shame us, but instead who will walk alongside us and help us create change, finding our hope and strength.

~ Hillary McBride

About Me

I am a counselor, health advocate, & hope broker. I love helping people to grow, heal, and come into more fullness in themselves and their lives. Before becoming a clinical counselor, I worked for 20 years as an international educator, trainer, and administrator in corporate, higher education, & non-profit settings. I wore many hats as a program developer, administrator, counselor, teacher, & non-profit manager. My journey to becoming a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor is rooted in my personal 16 year recovery journey with a neuro-immune chronic illness. Having lost my job, I was severely disabled & home-bound the first couple years.

In the journey of recovery, I’ve adapted to new ways of “being” and “doing,” and sought to regain a meaningful life for myself in the midst of managing my illness. I also saw a need for therapists who have an understanding of the illness & disability experience and can offer competent care in helping clients to stabilize, structure, and integrate their illness and/or disability into their lives to re-write their story.

I’ve gotten so much joy the last several years in being a fellow traveler and guide for individuals and groups who are navigating chronic and often co-occurring physical and mental illness & disabilities. This is a hard road, but navigating it well can bring hidden gifts of healing, a resilience of spirit, a sharpening of character, and a greater focus & appreciation on what is valuable in life.

Inclusive & Person-Centered Counseling

My passion in counseling is to create a relationship built on safety, trust, and hope, where individuals with chronic physical illnesses & disabilities feel seen, accepted, and challenged to grow in new and meaningful ways. I consider it a great privilege to be able to walk with someone through their fears, hurts, losses & challenges, helping them experience hope, healing, & courage. As such, counseling as an opportunity to help lessen people’s pain & suffering, increase hope, & optimize emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. Part of that includes creating opportunities for employment with chronic illness foster empowerment, restore dreams, and most of all, find joy, purpose, and self-acceptance.

My hope is that my clients encounter respect, dignity, honor, & safety in our relationship with regard to ability, ethnicity, color, sex, race, gender identification, faith expression, marital status, sexual preference, etc. It is my desire to affirm each individuals lived experience in the world & bring cultural humility, and what in South Africa they call “sawubona,” a deep seeing of the other. I also seek to hold space & recognition of how intersections of privilege, discrimination, oppression, ableism, gender, class, racism, & sexual preference impact lives and the counseling experience.

Education & Clinical Approach

I hold a bachelor of arts in anthropology from UC Berkeley, a master of arts in intercultural service, leadership, & management from the School for International Training, and a masters of science in clinical rehabilitation counseling and clinical mental health from San Diego State University, located in the top 4 programs in the US for clinical rehabilitation and mental health. I have a certification in clinical rehabilitation counseling and am an associate registered clinical counselor in good standing with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

I use a wide variety of therapeutic approaches, including person-centered clinical & vocational rehabilitation counseling & assessment. I am IFS-informed and use EMDR, medical crisis counseling, Fennel Four Phase Treatment model (FFPT)™ of chronic illness & trauma adaptation, narrative & existential therapies, Wellness Recovery Action Planning® , cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, various trauma and body-based therapies, mindfulness, & resilience based interventions.. I tailor my approach based on the specific goals and strengths of the client, so that each person experiences counseling that is a good fit for them. All the therapy I do is evidence-based and is designed to be empowering, with a focus on de-pathologizing and empowering the person.