Therapists in San Francisco, CA

I specialize in marital and premarital couple therapy, ADHD and anxiety. If anxiety, focusing or planning things are affecting your relationship, I can help. As you struggle, you know something needs to change. You're tired of avoiding or obsessing about dealing with these issues. You notice it's affecting your mental health and want to find new ways to manage it. You know your mood and stress levels affect your mental health and all parts of life. With ADHD, supports are so key for balance. You've struggled long enough and ready to make changes to feel better about them. If this is you, I can help and welcome you to reach out.

As a skilled psychotherapist, I understand the challenges and concerns that can arise when seeking therapy. That's why I accept insurance to make the process more accessible and affordable for those in need. Whether you're new to therapy or have sought help in the past, my goal is to empower you with the tools and insights necessary to manage life's difficulties and achieve healthy, meaningful relationships. With over 26 years of experience, I have worked extensively with clients facing chronic and terminal illnesses, as well as their support systems, helping to alleviate stress and promote positive coping strategies.

Hello, I'm currently offering in-person and video sessions with individual teens and adults. I have 10+ years of experience practicing Gestalt Therapy: a blend of self exploration, body awareness, and creative ways to integrate fragmented parts of ourselves. I also use Cognitive Behavioral exercises, art activities, and guided meditations, depending on your goals and interest. Most of my clients are in early to mid-life, improving their relationships to self and others, lifestyle, life purpose, transitions, and overcoming obstacles. I help people manage anxiety and depression, and navigate the complexities of being human!

Are you a woman struggling in your relationships? Pregnant or a new mom? I help women who feel hopeless and anxious about their lives feel more empowered. Perhaps you've been stuck in the same patterns in your relationships. Or you are navigating new motherhood and are understandably impacted by the massive changes happening. Together, we'll help you learn the tools to understand the meaning underneath your emotions and move beyond feeling stuck and overwhelmed. Using both talk therapy and somatic (body-based) tools, therapy is a place for you to heal, grow, and explore your inner world in a compassionate and non-judgmental space.

Are you a pregnant person or new parent? Are you struggling with an unhealthy relationship or are you a survivor of an abusive relationship? Are you looking for a therapist who is warm and supportive? Do you want to feel truly heard? You might be nervous to start therapy, so finding a therapist who will collaborate with you is important. I will focus on your strengths to help you heal and grow, while providing you with tools and a safe place to explore. I believe the relationship between the therapist and client offers opportunities for healing and transformation.

Dr. Denise Stilwell is a licensed clinical psychologist with seven years of experience providing psychotherapy in a variety of clinical settings. She worked as a nurse for sixteen years before she became a psychotherapist and brings that rich experience into her practice. She specializes in treating anxiety, depression, identity issues, interpersonal issues, grief, managing chronic illness, and somatic symptom disorder. Dr. Stilwell collaborates with her clients to ensure they feel seen and heard in their sessions while utilizing evidence-based therapy approaches that are culturally sensitive and individually focused.

You've begun a courageous search. Take heart, healing is possible. My work is rooted in the body/mind connection, nourished by the imagination, and anchored in the support of our therapy relationship. My style includes both directing and listening. I understand that your timing and willingness to explore your concerns are unique and must be navigated with respect. We work together to take stock, talk about your goals, and gather the tools needed - from your own strengths, the training I bring, and a community of resources - to help you continue your journey of wellbeing.

Most of my clients come in struggling with their closest relationships - with their partners, parents, kids, colleagues and/or friends. There is often a deep longing for more joy, authenticity, and freedom from painful symptoms like anxiety and depression. I help clients learn to understand and thoughtfully navigate their emotional world, as we work to unpack and rewire recurring symptoms and habits. Issues I commonly work with include unhealthy relationships, work/life balance, healing unresolved childhood wounds, couples issues, anxiety, depression, parenthood, trauma, low self-esteem, addiction, infertility, loss, and grief.

Self-discovery is a process that can be both incredibly challenging and tremendously rewarding. Sometimes we seek it out and often it finds us through painful and uncomfortable symptoms or experiences. Some symptoms that I see in my practice include relationship challenges, anxiety, depression, health issues and blocks to self-expression. As a parent, I also work with postpartum moms and new parents as they navigate parenthood. Challenging experiences can lead to powerful healing and profound change. I believe in this process because it revolutionized my own life. I am honored to accompany others in their version of this process.

We often find ourselves and bodies, on the path towards health after overwhelming experiences, trauma, grief or loss. Re-igniting our inner-fire and natural emotional balance can understandably be a challenge. Trauma-informed somatic psychotherapy can help! I take my role as a therapist, one who supports the client On their journey, as a facilitator of a sacred collaboration. I conduct therapy with an intention to process and move trauma (anxiety, depression and grief accompanying it) in order to restore balance between the mind, body, and spirit and reignite the internal fire.

Here's what I believe: Your emotionality is one of your greatest resources. When we can understand our emotions as information, not instructions, we have access to all of the rich insights they provide to us about ourselves and the world around us. As a holistically oriented therapist, my work weaves together Western psychological theory with Eastern traditions of spirituality, infusing sessions with practices to assist you in developing self compassion, mindfulness, Emotional Fluency and a reconnection to your body and it’s wisdom.

I engage with each person as an individual that requires a unique set of skills specifically altered to address your personal sources of distress. I offer a safe, non-judgmental, compassionate and supportive environment so that you can create the change you are seeking. There are times in our lives when we struggle with the most valuable relationships in our lives. It helps to be able to reflect together, problem-solve toward solutions and ways of coping with someone who can remain objective and supportive. I believe a strong therapeutic relationship is important in order to grow in therapy.

My goal is to create an empowering space to draw from your strengths in overcoming current challenges. I work collaboratively with clients to establish ongoing, flexible goals for therapy to make our sessions most effective. I individualize therapy to each person using a range of techniques and approaches. I am particularly interested in the stories we tell about our lives and the meaning we make of them. My clients describe me as warm, positive, and insightful.

We all at some point in our life face crises or transitions that can become an opportunity for growth. Do you want to know more about yourself? Do you finally want to make a change? I help clients break through patterns of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, body image issues, and more. I offer a rich menu of therapeutic techniques that make a tangible difference. Instead of experiencing an exaggerated reactivity to life's inevitable difficulties, a balanced sense of calm and peace will prevail. With couples, I teach nuanced communication skills towards the goal of a deep, fun-loving, and interdependent relationship.

In therapy I work to create a warm, and trusting relationship where feelings, thoughts and beliefs about yourself and others can be faced and worked through and patterns that are interfering with your ability to enjoy satisfying relationships can be changed. Sessions with me will include warmth, caring, humor and the ability to hold your emotions and feelings in a trusted manner. My specialties are anxiety, depression and relationship issues.

Are you tired of feeling that your anxiety/depression is in the driver’s seat and your innate creativity is held captive in the trunk? Are you ready for your anxiety/depression to take a back seat and choose what drives you - to feel creative, playful and confident. I am an expert in supporting creative folx who are feeling stuck, anxious, and alone and with no outlet, to feel seen and heard, and give expression to unspoken parts of themselves, to get clear on their needs, wants and their truth. Moving from a place of unbearable pain and stuckness to living full, creative, purpose-driven lives.

I believe each of us can lead lives of authenticity, balance, and purpose through mindfulness and self-reflection. I aim to create a warm, peaceful space for healing and awakening, a place where you can slow down your breath, calm the chattering of your mind, and get in touch with the deeper parts of yourself. My goal is to empower you to be your own compass and access your own inner strength and resilience. We all need someone we can count on: to listen, to try to understand, and to walk side by side as we travel rocky terrain. I would be honored to go on that journey with you.

Are you or your teen child feeling overwhelmed by negative feelings, struggling in your day-to-day, or just nagged by a sense that things shouldn't be this hard, and something needs to change? I can help. In my San Francisco practice, I guide young people through anxiety, stress, grief, challenging peer or family dynamics, big transitions and identity questions. My approach integrates depth psychotherapy with solutions-oriented counseling to help clients gain insight, find relief from immediate distress, and build life-skills for emotional health.

I practice exclusively with online clients residing in WA, CA & NY. I am out of network for all insurance panels. Psychology has always been a passion of mine in some shape or form. I have 14 yrs of clinical experience working with culturally diverse populations in international and domestic settings. My approach is mindfulness-based with a blend of CBT, person-centered therapy and Motivational Interviewing. I have expertise treating a wide range of psychological issues spanning the spectrum of depression, trauma/anxiety, relationship difficulties, and life adjustments, serving people across the lifespan and in different settings.