Therapists in Oakland, CA

Are you looking for a new creative way to deal with difficulties in life and get in touch with your best self? Do you feel like you’ve tried everything with your child, but they struggle to benefit from traditional talk therapy? As art therapists, we incorporate talk therapy with art making to help our clients unlock their creative potential, look at problems with fresh eyes, and develop new creative coping skills for managing with difficult emotions. If you or your child is feeling blocked by past trauma, stuck in destructive patterns, or overwhelmed by depression or anxiety, then I encourage you to reach out. You are not alone.

My framework as a psychotherapist is inspired by black feminist sci-fi writer, Octavia E. Butler who saw the possibility of many more worlds than just our own. I believe that transformative internal healing is critical to envisioning and building these worlds without the presence of imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism and cishet-patriarchy. The tools I use to support the exploration of individual, interpersonal and intergenerational trauma are shaped by abolition that rejects punitive and scarcity mindsets and disability justice which strives to value every body.

Have you recently experienced a traumatic loss and are feeling lost and overwhelmed with grief? Are you in the midst of a major life transition with your career or relationship? Perhaps you are an artist experiencing a creative block? Art Therapy may be the answer for your or your teen. As an Art Therapist, I specialize in guiding clients through grief and loss, life transitions, trauma, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and blocks in creativity and self exploration. I help my clients to harness the power of creativity to deepen emotional exploration and uncover feelings that may be challenging to otherwise articulate with words.

I am a queer artist, activist and therapist. I believe deeply in healing, and my practice as a therapist is one way I use my own healing journey to inform and create space for others to explore theirs. I seek to center my work on empowering and supporting people in the LGBTQIA+ community navigating all the emotional work it takes to exist in an oppressive culture - anxiety, depression, relationships, sex, gender, substance use, family, housing, employment, etc. Whether directly or indirectly through my practice, I also work to uplift and center the empowerment of queer, trans*, Black, indigenous and people of color (QTBIPOC).

I am a licensed child psychologist with extensive experience in providing therapeutic services to children, adolescents, emerging adults, and families. My specialization lies in helping clients navigate through various challenges such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, peer and family stress, learning, behavioral and attention difficulties, life transitions, trauma, separation, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. Additionally, I offer guidance to parents, helping them understand their children's challenges and strengths more deeply, enhance family communication and connection, and learn effective parenting and coping skills.

My ideology is inspired by the juxtaposition of American narratives, originating from the Deep South and Urban Midwest. Growing up in a Pro-Black, Christian Baptist home I learned how gender, sexuality, and white supremacy can greatly affect our culture, happiness and well-being. Early exposure to the mental healthcare system taught me that oppression can be as multi-layered and intersectional as the oppressed, and diagnosis will continue to be an act of oppression if it ignores cultural context, societal phobias, and systemic oppression. For a great number, our mental health is a representation of how we survive our social climate.

I create a safe holding space where people can deeply explore what is blocking them from enjoying their lives to the fullest. I focus on authentic connection and empathy to build trusting therapeudic relationships. I enjoy working with teens, young adults, and adults. If you are struggling to recover from DID, complex trauma, single traumas, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or bipolar disorder, I am here to help.

**Accepting New Clients** Feel cared for and heard, experience a safe and authentic connection, find clarity, heal from a past or more recent traumatic event. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Provisional Art Therapist and Mindfulness-based Practitioner, I offer a person-centered, strength-based holistic approach to healing. In addition to traditional talk therapy, I work with the creative mind, this work includes art and expressive mediums to understand how our earliest experiences in life create the implicit, behavioral patterns that we can potentially carry with us for a lifetime.

My experience comes from 31 years of helping children, adults, couples and families in both Community Mental Health and Private Practice. My approach is eclectic and tailored to each individual's needs to facilitate healing and growth. Through my years of experience I have witnessed over and over again people coming into therapy with great pain, discomfort and despair but with time, (sometimes within a very short time) their symptoms diminish and a whole new person emerges. Crisis times can be extremely painful and distressful but they can also be opportunities for growth and healing through therapy.

If you are reading this, you have chosen to take the first step to healing. This decision is a demonstration of your resiliency, strength, and courage to be vulnerable, something to be immensely proud of. My therapeutic approach in working with individuals and couples is integrative. I recognize that no two persons are the same and that each person requires a treatment plan that is adapted to meet their needs. I recognize that experiences of trauma and pain are two unavoidable life experiences. However, I believe that there is a resiliency and strength inside each individual that supports a path of healing.

I initially became a social worker to help the elderly population. Through graduate school, I have found a love for both medical social work as well as working in behavioral and mental health.

Whether sitting with individuals or partners, I am here to remind you of what you already know but might have forgotten: you are enough. Many clients find their way to me because they want to work through challenges related to their identity, acculturation, sexuality, gender expression, relationship formation, and early traumas. My identities as a queer, non-monogamous, sex- and kink-positive, immigrant woman tend to attract potential clients who share some of these positionalities.

I am seeking clients who are open to discovering what makes them unique through a creative and imaginative process; Clients whose goals may range from deeper self knowledge, to decreasing experiences with anxiety and depression, to understanding how trauma plays itself out in their relationships, to being able to resource themselves, etc; Clients interested in exploring their strengths as well as their more scary parts. I believe that pain and suffering are normal emotions and healing happens in connection with others; others who can hold and stay with the difficulty and provide curiosity and support.

Beginning therapy and reaching out for help can be an overwhelming and even scary process. So thank you for taking the first step toward getting the help and support you deserve. My approach is very relational in nature and I strive to create a safe and judgement-free space for all clients. Trust and relief do not often happen immediately in therapy. After some time of letting me come to know your story, though, we will develop a relationship that will help to empower your inner strength, expand your capacity for compassion, and support you in healing traumas that are impacting your overall health and quality of life.

Transforming our inner dialogues and practicing radical self compassion is an important part of healing. Speaking to oneself with gentleness and compassion can be a challenge for many, but we are all worthy of our own kindness. I am here to offer support in your healing journey with yourself. My approach is warm, patient, strengths based, and practical. I offer tools that clients can use to support their personal growth and healing, both during and outside of sessions. This includes learning how to build distress tolerance, learning emotional regulation skills, and practicing strategies for transforming inner thoughts.

I am passionate about working with those who struggle with relationships and boundary setting, and clients who struggle with balancing differing sets of expectations due to cultural, physical, or mental factors. I also work with couples from differing backgrounds to deepen mutual understanding and couples struggling through a difficult phase in their relationship looking to increase communication and understanding. I work well with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, immigrant and first and second generation individuals and families, mixed race or multicultural individuals, and those who are struggling with chronic illness.

All people deserve to experience safety within their minds and bodies however due to overwhelming and difficult experiences this does not always feel achievable. I seek to create a caring, non-judgmental, and trustworthy relationship with you where we can process your past and present experiences and develop skills that will enhance a sense of calm within your thoughts and body.

When challenges and struggles in life arise, you do not have to walk alone. Whether you have experienced a recent life transition, loss, setback, have struggled with mental health or addiction challenges, or, are seeking support to heal from a recent or childhood trauma, I will be honored to guide you to gain control of your life and reclaim your personal power. I have committed nearly two decades holding a safe and empowered space for adults, children, and adolescents to discover their human potential, heal from trauma, and develop the tools to live a life of vitality and empowerment.

Adults/Teens/Families. Bring your anxiety or depression, issues with identity, life purpose and meaning, your trauma, your grief. I draw on 15+ years of experience as a case manager, special educator, and wilderness first responder.