traci ishigo (pronouns: they/them, she/her) is a politicized therapist, trauma-informed yoga and meditation teacher, and community organizer. Their experiences as a Buddhist, queer, politicized Japanese American, survivor, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) inform their commitment to cultivating individual and collective healing.

In 2015, traci co-founded Vigilant Love (VL), which creates spaces for connection and grassroots movement to protect the safety and justice of communities impacted by structural Islamophobia, the War on Terror, and white supremacy. As VL’s Co-Director, traci stewards creative and abolitionist programming that fosters racial solidarity and intergenerational community healing.

As part of Our Whole Selves Therapy, traci is honored to support their clients in private practice. Their trauma-informed therapeutic approach integrates various modalities of training including Internal Family Systems, Trauma Resiliency Model, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Brainspotting, Narrative Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.

traci comes from clinical experience of having the opportunity to work with many queer, transgender, nonbinary people of color, community activists, organizers, and artists, survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, unhoused community members, formerly incarcerated community members, and people who long to shift their relationship to substances and various kinds of addiction.

traci has shared trauma-informed yoga and meditation throughout various communities in Los Angeles, including People’s Yoga in East LA, The Tree South LA, Roots 4 Peace-LA, and the AF3IRM School of Youth Activism in South Central, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition in the downtown metro area, the Downtown Women’s Center in the Skid Row community, the Center for Pacific Asian Families, the San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist temple, and the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.

traci earned a Master in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California, where they specialized in studying adults, mental health, trauma and wellness. In 2022, they were selected by the Foundation for Self Leadership as an Internal Family Systems Leadership Fellow where they completed their Level 1 certification. traci’s additional specialized training includes Brainspotting Phase 1 and the Trauma Resource Institute’s Community Resilience Model.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, #116138