Therapists in Berkeley, CA

When working with clients, I have a warm, collaborative approach that is rooted in an honest, non-judgmental stance. I approach treatment using a Cognitive Behavioral framework while also integrating interventions based on Internal Family Systems and Narrative therapy. With compassion and curiosity, we will explore your story and the core beliefs that shape your experiences.

Parenting can be a deeply conflictual experience. Sometimes we agree with Bette Davis who said "If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent." Other times we identify with Anne Lamott's notion that "There really are places in the heart you don't even know exist until you love a child." The seemingly unpredictable alternation of positive and negative feelings that come with raising a family can be painful and bewildering, and our self-esteem as parents suffers most when it becomes difficult to access the good in our closest relationships.

I enjoy working with LGBTQIA+ individuals and community from rural areas, as someone who understands the experience of isolation and judgment. I have a warm, soulful, collaborative, empathic, non-judgmental approach to therapy. My goal is to help individuals find their inner voice and truth, heal from new and old wounds, and repair interpersonal conflict with their loved ones. I work with all genders, LGBTQ+, gender expansive clients. Individual, family therapy, couples therapy, sex therapy. Accepting new clients virtually. I am also accepting supervisees currently registered with the BBS.

We all go through difficult times at some point in our lives. How we adjust, cope, and learn from these experiences will help us regain the sense of empowerment, inspiration and resilience to endure the many stages in life. Todos pasamos por momentos dificiles en nuestras vidas, pero el como nos ajustamos y lo que aprendemos de esas experiencias, es lo que nos ayudara a volver a sentir la capacidad, inspiracion y fortaleza para sobrellevar las diferentes etapas de nuestra vida.

I am a Bay Area-based Asian American clinical psychologist with a passion for working with adult children of immigrants, people of color, and historically marginalized folks. Many clients express struggling with perfectionism, people pleasing, self-criticism, and worry that they will never be "enough." There may be parts of themselves they feel unable to explore or express, and worry that these parts may not be understood or supported by others. Many may be navigating intergenerational trauma, and relationship issues with their family of origin or romantic relationships.

I believe that the core of successful psychotherapy lies in creating a safe place for you to talk about things that are truly important in your life. I am currently an online psychotherapist with over 20 years of clinical experience. I draw from various evidence-based approaches to provide personalized therapy that meets your unique needs. While we cannot always avoid the challenges that arise in our life, we do have a choice how to address them. I believe that there is much to learn from these struggles and that by facing them we create opportunity for making enduring changes in our life.

I meet people where they are at in their story. My goal is to walk along side people to discover their own resources for healing. I listen deeply. I bring a non judgmental presence that creates a safe place to talk about who they are, where they have been, and where they want to be. I am able to balance empathy with constructive challenge. I work with individuals, couples, and families of all ages that struggle with depression, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma, grief/loss and family dynamics.

Authentic change happens from the inside out. It can't be veneered onto one's surface. Painful life experiences create a complex web inside that shapes a person's world. This web can limit one's ability to find joy and meaning in life. Psychotherapy offers a way to access deep emotional experience. As therapy proceeds connections will start to appear between past & current life experience. Problematic internal patterns will become visible and open to reevaluation and change. As internal stress decreases, clarity, joy and meaning will have the chance to emerge.

With over 14 years of clinical experience, I help men and women, couples and families (especially adult siblings) address a variety forms of distress, from anxiety and depression, to addiction or just a general sense that something feels off in their lives in order to find more fulfillment and meaning. Whether I am working with an individual, couple or family, I am attuned to multiple forms of communication as a direct means for assessment, diagnosis and treatment for what ails each client, and what blocks them from their own joy and peace. I am interested in working with clients with a curiosity of their inner worlds.

I’m not beating around the bush here: things are pretty messed up right now. And when it feels like the world is on fire, of course you’re going to be freaking out. Maybe your life seemed fine until recently, and maybe you’ve been struggling longer than you can remember. Either way, I am here to help. I work with all ages, genders, sexualities, racial backgrounds, cultures, and subcultures. From work stress to identity crises, communication problems to childhood trauma, all issues need space to breathe, and a big part of that is finding a therapist you can be real with.

My style is engaged, authentic and direct, while holding space for our complete focus on your work at your pace. I operate with deep respect for the ways in which culture, race, class, gender, gender identity, immigrant status, sexuality, and physical ability can impact your experiences and sense of yourself. I work with a wide range of clients including individuals, adolescents and couples of all sexual orientations (heterosexual, gay, lesbian, queer, bisexual); clients of all genders and gender identities; people of multicultural or immigrant backgrounds; parents, prospective parents.

I use my extensive somatic training to help my clients build more capacity to be with and understand their feelings so that they can be in charge of their lives instead of their feelings pushing them around. I help clients with issues ranging from social anxiety, relationship challenges, depression, sleep issues, chronic pain, navigating difficult family and work environments, finding and focusing on their passion in life, and dealing with the traumatic state of the world.

My approach to the work of psychotherapy is interactive, empathic, and collaborative, relying on intuition, careful listening, offering direct and attuned feedback, and humor to help us build a strong, companionable connection. We will work together to create an atmosphere of trust in which we explore your deeper desires and needs, and examine difficult experiences to better understand and move beyond them to greater self awareness and acceptance. We will talk together in ways that nurture curiosity, compassion, and your creative spirit to help you build more satisfying and mutual relationships, and find the joy in inhabiting yourself more fully.

In my practice I am focused on helping you find meaning and resolution for your adverse or challenging life experiences. My goal is for you to feel better connected to the Big Picture of our common reality: humanity as one people, one community, spinning together on this planet we call Earth, in which all of our actions affect both ourselves and each other.

Therapy is a sacred process that has the potential to heal and catalyze growth. The most important ingredient in this process is the alliance between the participants sharing the therapeutic space. This relationship serves as the foundation from which change may spring, and attendance to this relationship is integral to the way I engage in therapy. My approach honors this alliance while maintaining space to creatively develop practical treatment goals that align with your values and needs. I hope that clients leave treatment with tangible and actionable tools that they can employ outside of the session in service of their wellness.

As a psychologist, I provide a bridge between traditional psychotherapy and alternative modalities, in a highly individualized approach.Hypnotherapy integrated with psychotherapy can effectively reduce stress and anxiety, while resolving issues of relationships, career, health, or self-development. Hypnosis is a natural way to empower you to "change your brain." Release negative beliefs, shift self-defeating habits to life enhancing ones, discover your "source self" and utilize creative inner resources that you may not even be aware you have.

Have you experienced early-life trauma, feeling the weight of it in your metaphorical "backpack"? Are you searching for a way to release this burden? If you often contemplate life's injustices, questioning when the storm will pass, and find yourself operating in a way that leaves you unfulfilled and burnt out, I'm here to provide support. Untreated past trauma can impact overall health, and while I can't promise the storms will stop, I offer tools to help you navigate and overcome them.

Hello! I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Registered Art Therapist in the State of California with over 7 years of working experience. As a therapist, I enjoy utilizing a combination of psychodynamic and narrative theories, which I pair with CBT and mindfulness interventions to help develop coping strategies. I believe that perspectives can be greatly shaped by the stories we tell ourselves and enjoy assisting clients in altering negative beliefs into more positive thoughts and behaviors, shifting them into realities that better suit their current needs.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL COUPLES THERAPY: Conflict Resolution Skills: Anger management.Infidelity Counseling.Reproductive Counseling. Resolve one issue at a time: diminish name calling/condemnation: hold one another accountable for behavior: minimize mind reading: eliminate verbal/physical abuse: work towards full honesty: build an emotional bank account: improve ratio of favorable/unfavorable interactions: acknowledge each partner's authority. Emotional Maturation: Learn appropriate emotional expression: identify/heal childhood emotional triggers: differentiate between reasonable/unreasonable expectations. Character Development: Improve listening skills: take responsibility for your actions: increase empathy: practice sincere apologies: acknowledge limitations: distinguish:needs/desires: ask for what's important. Eliminate domestic violence. RESTORE ROMANTIC LOVE.