At the heart of my work is a commitment to the gifted and twice-exceptional community, of which I have been an active member for my entire personal life and professional career. Through my practice, the da Vinci Learning Center, I serve children, adolescents, and adults whose lives don’t fit neatly within the structures of traditional classrooms, therapeutic models, or professional expectations. These are people whose intelligence shines brightly—but who may also struggle with learning disabilities, social-emotional challenges, or a deep sense of being out of sync with the world around them. My path to this work was not linear, but its complexity reflects the very nature of the clients I serve. Trained originally as a molecular biologist at MIT and Stanford, I shifted from research to education, seeking a path that honored my intellectual curiosity while allowing for more direct human connection. Teaching science and math to middle and high schoolers—many of whom were gifted or twice-exceptional—opened my eyes to the needs of learners who defy categorization. I recognized how standard educational and psychological frameworks often failed these students. They were called “difficult,” “lazy,” or “weird”—but I saw something else entirely: unmet needs, misunderstood abilities, and incredible opportunities for growth. As I moved into private practice and expanded my skills as an educational therapist, my clients pushed me to grow further. Many of them—and their families—were looking for someone who could not only assess and support their learning needs but also understand the emotional complexity of being gifted or twice-exceptional. Again and again, I witnessed how traditional therapy failed to resonate with them. Their frustrations mirrored those I had experienced myself and heard repeatedly within the gifted community: “My therapist didn’t get it. I felt like I had to dumb myself down. I couldn’t trust them to understand what I was really going through.” After becoming a parent myself, I became even more intensely aware of the challenges involved in raising GT/2E children, of helping parents accept our own neurodiversity and problem-solve about the delicate balance between meeting ourselves where we are and helping each other move forward. These experiences propelled me toward doctoral work in clinical psychology. My dissertation, Cheetahs on the Couch, examined the therapeutic working alliance with cognitively gifted clients. I explored how gifted individuals experience therapy, what fosters connection, and what causes rupture. The data was clear: gifted clients often feel misunderstood, even pathologized, by clinicians unfamiliar with their intellectual and emotional intensity. Many therapists overlook giftedness as a relevant dimension of human experience, and some even react with discomfort or hostility to clients who self-identify as gifted. Giftedness is not merely a score on a test; it is a cultural experience. It shapes how individuals see the world and themselves, how they form relationships, and how they struggle. For twice-exceptional individuals—who pair giftedness with disabilities like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or medical conditions—the experience is even more complex. They often face a paradox: being simultaneously over- and under-estimated, praised and punished, too much and not enough. Navigating this paradox can lead to anxiety, depression, perfectionism, identity confusion, and a chronic sense of failure. They are often drawn to deep existential questions and are not satisfied with simple answers. My mission is to offer a therapeutic approach that honors the full scope of who these individuals are. I draw on diverse psychological theories, from psychodynamic and systems thinking to self-determination theory, existential theory, and trauma-informed care. But above all, I strive to meet each client with authentic curiosity and respect for their complexity. I focus on building a strong therapeutic alliance—one that is rooted in empathy, mutual understanding, and collaborative exploration of goals and tasks. My aim is not to fix the client, but to help them build adaptive skills, self-awareness, and the capacity to thrive as their full selves. I offer therapy, mentoring, assessment, enrichment, remediation, consultation, and guidance to families, educators, and clinicians. I also speak publicly and provide professional development, because I believe systemic change begins with awareness. It is time we move beyond the binary thinking that defines people by their deficits or achievements, or which fails to recognize that affirming difference can also include having the faith in each person’s capacity for growth. We must embrace complexity, both in the people we serve and in ourselves as practitioners. Gifted and 2e individuals deserve therapists who recognize their strengths, respect their struggles, and understand the ways their minds and hearts interact. My work is to be such a therapist.