Ruth Dimagmaliw
Hi, I’m Ruthie. I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist, a second-generation Pinay, a mother, and someone who understands what it can feel like to carry a lot of different roles at once.
My strengths lie in holding space for complex truths, supporting long-term transformation, and guiding clients toward self-trust, liberation, and connection.
As a daughter, partner, mother, therapist, and business owner, I know that who we are is shaped by our relationships, our families, our culture, and the expectations we carry. Sometimes, we become so accustomed to showing up for everyone else that we lose touch with what we need for ourselves. My work as a therapist is rooted in the belief that understanding yourself means looking beyond the individual. It means making sense of the experiences, relationships, and systems that have shaped you, without losing sight of your own agency in deciding what comes next. I bring warmth, curiosity, and a systemic perspective to our work together. I want to understand not just what you're struggling with, but how you got here, what you've been carrying, and what you want your life to look like moving forward. You don't have to come to therapy with everything figured out. You don't need the right words or a clear plan. We can start wherever you are. Together, we'll make space to understand yourself more deeply, navigate the relationships and expectations that feel complicated, and explore what it means to build a life that feels more aligned with who you are and who you're becoming. You can want more without doing more. Let's make room for it.
First session
You don’t need to prepare a perfect story or know exactly what you want to work on. Our first session is an opportunity for us to get to know each other and begin making sense of what brings you to therapy. I’ll ask questions about what’s been happening in your life, what you’ve been carrying, the relationships that matter to you, and what you’re hoping might be different. We’ll also talk about your background and the experiences that have shaped you. This might include your family, culture, identity, relationships, work, or other parts of your life that feel important to understanding where you are now. You’re welcome to bring whatever feels most relevant. You don’t have to tell me everything at once, and you won’t be expected to have the “right” answers. I’ll listen, ask questions, offer reflections, and begin getting a sense of how I can support you. We may start identifying patterns or themes that we can explore together, but we don’t have to figure everything out in one session. And just as importantly, the first session is also for you to get a feel for me. Therapy is a relationship. You should have space to decide whether you feel comfortable, understood, and able to be yourself here. You don’t have to perform. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just come as you are. We’ll start there.
Strengths
I bring warmth, curiosity, and a willingness to look beneath the surface. You don’t have to come to therapy with the right words, a clear goal, or a neat explanation for why you’re struggling. We can figure it out together. I bring a systemic lens to our work, which means I’m interested in more than what’s happening within you. I want to understand your relationships, family, culture, identity, and the systems that have shaped how you see yourself and move through the world. I also won’t assume that everything you’re struggling with is something you need to fix about yourself. Sometimes what looks like anxiety is your body telling you something. Sometimes what looks like indecision is different parts of you wanting different things. Sometimes the expectations you’re carrying were never yours to begin with. In our work, we’ll get curious about all of it. I’ll offer perspective, ask thoughtful questions, gently challenge you when it feels helpful, and create space for you to slow down enough to hear yourself. Most importantly, I want therapy to be a place where you don’t have to perform. You can show up as the capable one, the overwhelmed one, the daughter, the partner, the parent, the professional, or the version of yourself you’re still figuring out. There is room for all of you here. My role isn’t to tell you who to become. It’s to help you understand yourself deeply enough to decide for yourself.
Ideal clients
You may be the person everyone counts on. You’re thoughtful, capable, and used to figuring things out. You care deeply about the people in your life and have probably spent a lot of time being the responsible one, the helper, the peacekeeper, or the one who holds everything together. But lately, something feels different. Maybe you’re tired of carrying so much. Maybe you’re navigating changes in your relationships, family, identity, or role in the world. Maybe you’re successful on paper but still feel disconnected, overwhelmed, or unsure of what you actually want. You might find yourself asking: Who am I outside of what I do for everyone else? What do I actually want? Why is it so hard to set boundaries without feeling guilty? Can I want something different without disappointing the people I love? What if I don’t want to keep doing things the way I’ve always done them? You may also be navigating the expectations that come with being a daughter, partner, parent, professional, or member of a family and culture that has taught you to prioritize others. I work especially well with people who want to understand themselves more deeply, not just manage distress or check another thing off their self-improvement list. The reality is, you know that the way you’ve been living, relating, or carrying things no longer feels sustainable. If you’re ready to slow down, get curious about what’s happening beneath the surface, and make more intentional choices about what comes next, therapy can be a place to begin. You can want more without doing more. Let’s make room for it.
Treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Sometimes, the harder we try not to feel something, the more power it has over us. In therapy, we can learn to make room for difficult thoughts and feelings without letting them dictate what you do next. Instead of waiting until you feel less anxious, less guilty, or more confident before moving forward, we explore what matters to you and what you want your life to look like, and practice taking steps toward it, even when uncomfortable feelings come along for the ride. You don’t have to get rid of a feeling before you can move forward. We’ll work on building the flexibility to experience what’s here while still making choices that feel meaningful and aligned with who you are.
Narrative
We all carry stories about who we are. Some come from our families. Some come from culture, relationships, or experiences we’ve had. And some are stories we’ve absorbed from the systems around us. Maybe you’ve come to see yourself as the responsible one, the difficult one, the fixer, the one who always has it together, or the person who needs to keep everyone happy. In therapy, we can get curious about those stories. Where did they come from? Who taught you that this was who you had to be? What has that story made possible, and what has it cost you? We can also look for the parts of your story that have been there all along but haven’t gotten as much attention. The moments you chose differently. The values you’ve held onto. The ways you’ve cared, survived, grown, resisted, or become someone your younger self may not have imagined. You are more than the story you’ve been given. Therapy can be a space to explore what else is true.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
You don’t have to leave your culture at the door when you come to therapy. Our families, cultures, communities, identities, and experiences shape how we understand ourselves and our relationships. They can shape what we believe we should do, what we feel responsible for, how we express emotions, and what we’ve learned about asking for help. In therapy, we can make space for all of that. I won’t assume I know what your culture or identity means to you. Instead, I’ll be curious about your experience and how the world around you has shaped it. We can explore the expectations you’ve inherited, the values you want to hold onto, and the ones you may want to redefine. You get to decide what belongs in your life, not simply what you were taught should.
Somatic
Sometimes your body knows something before you have words for it. You might notice your shoulders tense when someone brings something up. Your stomach drops when you get a certain text. You feel restless when you’re supposed to be resting. Or maybe you feel completely disconnected from your body altogether. In therapy, we can slow down and pay attention to those signals, not because your body is always right, but because it can give us information about what you’re experiencing. We may use grounding, breathing, movement, or simple awareness practices to help you notice what’s happening in your body and create more room to respond rather than automatically react. There’s nothing you need to fix or force. We’re simply learning to listen to what your body is telling you and building a relationship with yourself that feels more connected and grounded.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
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Serves
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Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 119569