Therapists in Oakland, CA

I am passionate about the resiliency of the human spirit in healing from trauma, creating & nurturing engaging relationships, & finding our way through life’s transitions. I view therapy as a tool to create a safe space to show up authentically and work toward living the life you seek. My work is with children (8 & up), teens, adults, & couples who are healing from trauma, working on identity, body image, & self-esteem, experiencing anxiety, depression, & stress, recovering from narcissistic, sexual, or intimate partner abuse, having difficulty with dating/relationships, & working through divorce, co-parenting, & blending families.

Feeling restless or easily distracted? Lacking energy, motivation, focus, or direction in life? Spinning your wheels in your career or relationships? Prone to pleasing others at all costs, yet feeling unhappy and misunderstood? Always too busy to stop and smell the flowers? I'd like to help you become more empowered, confident, and satisfied through facing and letting go of your fears, irritating beliefs, guilt, and suffering, so you can learn to communicate more effectively and have healthy relationships. For more than twenty-five years I have provided time-limited and in-depth psychotherapy to individuals, couples and groups.

I am a licensed psychologist providing individual, couple and family therapy for a wide range of difficulties. My style is warm, compassionate, personable and directed. I take a collaborative, strengths-based approach that emphasizes acceptance of the self in finding one’s own way forward. I not only assist my clients to explore and resolve issues from the past but help them to develop practical and creative solutions to life problems. I employ treatment modalities such as EMDR, DBT and CBT along with an attachment based foundation as important tools in assisting my clients to realize a fuller life experience.

As a psychologist with a Dual Ph.D. in Clinical and Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and over 25 years of experience, I invite you to explore the transformative power of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy. I've seen firsthand how this approach helps my clients rewire old patterns of thinking/behavior, and learn to navigate life's challenges with greater resilience. In addition, over 27,000 people worldwide follow my blog to learn my approach to healing and recovery. Visit christinedickson.com for more information.

If you are reading this, take heart, as you've already demonstrated your courage. Many people, if not most, never seek the help they need, professionally or personally. As a therapist, my philosophy is that every person is unique in their own way, and this requires a unique solution to the challenges you face. People are incredibly complex, and many times this is why cookie cutter interventions often fall flat, because the client is not fully understood before interventions are prescribed.