Our highest potential as human beings is to embrace the interdependence of all beings and to value full development of potentialities and consciousness. This involves an ongoing process of healing the wounds in our psyches, fully inhabiting our bodies, and increasing our consciousness while developing a healthy relationship with those parts of us that are unconscious, and deepening our relationships with other humans as well as with all the other inhabitants of the planet we share. Each of us has our own individual potential to grow towards, and our work together can support you in this process.

My passion is to support couples into a more loving and fulfilled relationship. I believe that many couples fall in love and sacrificially give, but unbeknownst to them, lose their way, and take the common path of exhausting themselves by tying to change their partners behaviors; which will never, ever, work! Working with me however, will shift the focus from their partner and place it on themselves. Then, with my guidance, the couples make a strategic plan(s) to do the next right thing(s) in the relationship. Only then will healing begin, and the experience of living in a more loving, trusting, and safe romantic relationship.

​I provide experiential sex & intimacy coaching, as well as group facilitation, to help get you out of your head and into your body, to explore what connects you to your pleasure and allows you to step into your power.

Maybe it's time to get the support and compassionate care you want, need and deserve! Feeling anxious, depressed or dealing with loss, grief, trauma or transition? Perhaps you've just been feeling a little down or disconnected from yourself or a primary relationship. Are you wanting to heal on deeper levels?

Relationship stress, conflict, and anxiety can rob the joy of dating and being in love. The pain of not fully connecting, cheating, and addiction issues with a loved one can feel unstabilizing.

I integrate body-centered and strength-based psychotherapy with wilderness interventions to offer a holistic and creative approach to working with clients. I focus on supporting clients addressing eating disorders, trauma, anxiety, depression and sexual identity development. I am passionate about supporting gender diverse, non-binary and transgender clients from a gender-affirmative approach. My aim is to address the whole person to understand patterns and create new healthy inner dialogue and behavior.

I believe in your capacity for healing, change and growth. To encourage well-being, I support people in identifying and strengthening their inner and outer resources. I provide therapy in either English or Spanish for adults and children.

I am a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice in Santa Cruz, CA. I provide psychotherapy for individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, women's issues, perinatal/postpartum challenges, eating disorders, trauma recovery and career struggles/transitions. I work with couples who may be struggling with communication, intimacy and overall dissatisfaction with their current relationship dynamics. I also facilitate groups for postpartum challenges, parenting and body image. Please view my website for detailed and current information regarding my practice at genine@genineleighton.com

I believe that therapy is a partnership between the therapist and you, the client. I will work with you to support the process of growth and discovery as well as to work toward the goals which brought you to therapy. In my work with couples, individuals, families, and children, I use a strengths based, collaborative approach. Whether you want to improve your relationships, learn new coping skills, develop your parenting skills, or work toward other personal goals, I encourage you to give me a call so we can develop a plan which will work for you.

Embarking on the journey of psychotherapy is a courageous and empowering act. My intention is to assist you in recognizing, respecting, and building on your strengths, and improving your capacity for self regulation. Through this partnership, I will assist you in bringing unconscious faulty core beliefs to the light of mindful awareness, engaging your wisdom and compassion. I will work with you collaboratively to address and navigate through your pain, your perceived limitations and stuck places, which are your growing edges. This demanding and enlivening work can improve your quality of life, and expand your capacity for joy and happiness.

I look forward to meeting each new client and getting to know him or her. I know with our busy lives we all have a number of stressors and conflicts. Sometime our usual ways of dealing with these no longer work. My goal is to help you find effective ways to deal with these stressors, so that you can complete therapy feeling happier, more in charge of your life, and can reach that place deep inside where each of us is our very best self.

My ideal client is motivated to engage in the change process and is willing to follow suggestions and direction that will result in real second order change that is truly life changing. I am uniquely qualified in treating various addictions including alcohol and drug abuse, sex addictions and compulsive behaviors, problem gambling and the many underlying issues involved. I am very effective in getting to and helping my clients resolve the root causes of their addictions. I am very effective in helping clients resolve addiction related issues including self-esteem, codependency, anxiety, anger and trauma using CBT, EMDR and FSAP.

Starting therapy takes courage. By the time my clients begin working with me they have grown tired of what's not working in their lives. I help them develop new perspectives, work through grief and loss, and choose their path forward. I base my practice on direct style, good humor and close attention to the subtle dynamics that have kept them stuck until now. Tools: Somatic, Narrative, Gestalt and Mindfulness approaches. Specialties: Trauma recovery, challenging life transitions, working with finances, sexuality and parenting.

Holly Hughes & Co. offers expertise in the promotion of structural changes within healthcare organizations throughout California. We support our clients in operationalizing best practices and services in a way that maximizes connection, accessibility, and equity. Using high-level, evidence-based change management processes, we advance comprehensive system shifts to meet the needs of communities more effectively. We also maintain a private practice rooted in comprehensive care, dedicated to addressing the layered strengths & challenges of the people we serve.

I believe therapy is the development of a safe and trusting relationship between the facilitator and the participant. Therapy can be hard work and getting started can be scary, however making art, using play or being in nature can ease this process. As your therapist I will encourage you to use your creative imagination as a vehicle to understanding your inner turmoil, psychic pain or stagnancy. Along the way we will be implementing these effective tools in cultivating a more fulfilling life experience.

Asking for support is not always easy. Whether you are looking for counseling, for resources, or hoping to book a training, I can support you. My clinical practice serves children, teens, and adults struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, gender identity development, neurodiversity (ASD and ADHD), grief and loss, transitions, and much more.

I am a licensed marriage and family therapist with a masters in counseling and a commitment to helping my clients reach their full potential. I provide engaged and compassionate therapy to families, adults, children, teens, and couples in a safe, nurturing environment. Whether you are dealing with a specific challenge, such as grief or a rough spot in your relationship, or you simply want to find more balance in your life, therapy can provide new tools and a fresh perspective.

My therapeutic approach is rooted in my deep respect and genuine interest in people. Since I am an expressive and inquisitive person, it comes naturally to me to practice a style of therapy that is both interactive and eclectic. I offer insights, observations, suggestions, feedback, as well as attentive listening. I am adaptable and able to adjust my style according to what works best for the client. As a team, my clients and I work together to find creative solutions to overcome obstacles to growth and well-being.

We learn how to regard ourselves from the earliest relationships we have. From the nurturing of our nature or lack thereof, a template of how to treat ourselves and relate to others is set. The good news... this template is not set in permanence and is subject to change with focused intent! I am dedicated to helping you achieve these changes. Therapy is an art form which involves attending to a Client's specific emotional pains. The art of my practice is in knowing when to provide silence or words, when to challenge or encourage, when to include techniques, when to just be.

I love to work with people who are tired of feeling stuck or weighed down by old patterns and are ready to transform their lives and thrive. Together, we explore the obstacles and find creative ways around or through them. My experience as an artist, meditator, and former body and energy healing practitioner allows me to approach therapy in a creative and transformative way. As a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT), I am incorporating creative expression in my work, allowing the client to access their inner truth not only verbally, but through the various non-verbal channels of expression- visual, movement, voice, or music.