Therapists in Berkeley, CA

We come to therapy to understand and solve our most complex personal challenges. When suffering goes deep enough, therapy is an intuitive response to problems that are emotionally complex and cannot be solved by our ordinary methods. Therapy alleviates our isolation by giving us the specialized and dedicated attention of a therapist. Therapy restores or kindles confidence in our ability to make it through difficult times. Lastly, it gives us some emotional distance, some sense of freedom, from the at times consuming turmoil of our personal lives by stimulating a deeper or broader understanding.

I work with clients of all ages to find a unique path through the difficulties they are seeking help with and in their efforts to live fully. My approach is relational, depth-oriented, playful, and based in compassion. Psychotherapy can be a deeply personal and enlivening process, through which you may notice an emerging sense of self and find greater internal freedom. With adults, this involves creating a space where you feel recognized, understood, and safe enough to explore the depths and complexity of your emotional experiences as well as the forces (internal and external) impacting the areas of life most concerning to you now.

I work with people who are suffering and are looking to better understand why they feel the way they do. My clients are open to exploring the role that internal unconscious forces, as well the role that the social environment, play in how they experience themselves and others. Long term psychotherapy is not only beneficial for dealing with suffering. Once a person has made progress with the primary life concerns, room is created for expansive growth, including the attainment of goals, and I believe that it is equally important to go through this process accompanied.

I work with individuals struggling with issues of self-worth, either shame or grandiosity; couples needing help to restore their communication, dealing with codependency and navigating non monogamous life; and I specialize in working with men seeking to develop a healthier relationship to their masculinity. I am offering you supportive, non judgmental yet direct and clear feedback on what you are thinking and doing that keeps you from moving forward. Changing the way we engage with our thoughts and feelings requires self-awareness, education, and support. You don't have to do this alone!

Psychotherapy is one of many ways to improve the quality of your life and your relationships with others. While emotional wounds from the past are often the source of challenging symptoms, our sessions focus on the present as well as the past. I place great value on a solid therapeutic relationship and through this relationship, insights will surface and positive changes can occur. My style is collaborative, interactive, and supportive. I work with an open caring heart and humbly bring my full self to our sessions. I welcome individuals and couples of all ages and from all walks of life.

I work with individuals and couples facing significant life choices and transitions in areas such as relationships, marriage, divorce, parenthood, career, and identity. I also have a sub-specialization in work with survivors of trauma. I am experienced in working with clients from a wide range of cultural and geographic backgrounds. In our sessions I provide clients a place to find support, acceptance, perspective and hope, to explore themselves and their lives in depth, and to develop more effective ways of relating to themselves and others.

As an empath, intuitive, or highly sensitive person, you experience this world in a deeper, more complex, and intuitive way. You feel the joys and pains of other beings as if they were your very own. This can bring experiences of tremendous joy and love, as well as overwhelm, sacrifice, and suffering. With so much pain in the world, it's hard to discover what you need, or believe you deserve it. As a an empath, intuitive, and highly sensitive person - I understand. I designed my practice to support people just like you - to help you create a life joyfully centered in your own sacred needs, gifts, and ways of being. You deserve joy.

Are you having conflicts in a current relationship and not feeling supported or loved by your partner? Or have you recently lost a relationship and are going through painful feelings of grief or loss? I help individuals (not couples) process these feelings to better understand what is happening, become more aware of patterns you may have and how to improve your current or future relationships. I emphasize creating a safe environment to share your thoughts and feelings and encourage feedback to meet your individual needs.

Diane Oliver, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, has over 20 years of experience. She will partner with you to explore new solutions to ongoing problems, provide warm, safe, non-judgmental support for emotional relief and offer practical skills to repair and improve your relationships. Her expertise is using strength-based positive psychology along with evidence-based practices. She is fluent in art therapy, role-play, guided imagery and somatic approaches.

Hypnotherapy connects you to the power of the subconscious mind, and combined with holistic counseling and acupressure, old self defeating patterns based on trauma or self-doubt can be released. Underneath these old patterns, your true confidence, resilience, and strength lie hidden. These are natural human qualities which we all can experience when the mind turns away from negativity and fear toward trust and wholeness. It requires a shift of attention from the conditioned mind to the real presence of your own authentic self which the "BodyMind Transformation' process encourages and facilitates.

Welcome :) I specialize in supporting adults and older teens facing crisis, difficult life transitions, relationship issues, grief/loss, depression and anxiety. My work is deeply rooted in empowering and supporting individuals on their personal journey as they uncover inner-strengths, increase insight about themselves, their relationships and restoring balance in their lives. I embrace a strengths-based, holistic and mindfulness-based framework rooted in culture and healing when working with clients. I welcome diversity in all forms and integrate various treatment modalities based on client need.

Through providing holistic and person-centered care and insight, I help both individuals and couples create more joyful and fulfilling lives. My clients are looking to make specific changes in their lives and want an interactive therapist to help provide perspective, as well as specific tools and strategies for coping with painful emotions and situations. As a doctorate level provider, I frequently work clients around boundaries, issues related to chronic pain and comorbid health conditions, trauma, anxiety and depression, relationship concerns, and life transitions.

I have over 20 years of clinical experience working with children and adults in a variety of settings, including in-patient and out-patient psychotherapy, and schools. While I enjoy helping people who have relationship problems and suffer from depression, I also have expertise with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma, suffer from anxiety, mood disorders, or adjustment issues related to family stressors.

I love seeing individuals at a turning point in their lives, who need help to heal painful beliefs or repeating relational patterns, leading to direction and self-love. I also see adolescents, providing support and psychoeducation to end self-harming or risky behaviors, building a strong alliance. With couples, I teach empathic communication, to deescalate and heal longstanding resentments, bringing to light the need behind them. I help you understand how you impact each other. As a balanced presence, I track each person's emotions and needs, enabling more efficient expression, helping you hear and cherish each other again.

Is your child having difficulty at school, with learning or being social? Is your child being called hyperactive, withdrawn, or distracted? Is your child seem angry, sad, worried, or nervous? Do you wonder if your child might benefit from special education services? Or if they need therapy? Do you wonder if your child is functioning at a level that is comparable to children within their peer group? Having a Psychological Assessment or Psycho-Ed Evaluation can help you learn how to help your child develop and grow in a safe manner and give your family answers to the above.

Do you feel hurt and limited by past losses and disappointments? Do you feel you have been derailed from living a full life of your own by difficult life experiences? I would like to help. I have worked with individuals and couples for over 30 years. Many of these people found themselves stuck in patterns that have held them back in their relationships and in their careers. Sometimes people feel no matter what their effort, they repeat the same mistakes. I find that often very painful experiences can cause a person to avoid all sorts of thoughts and experiences.

Emerging from the Covid 19 year, did you find that you have personal insights to sort through and understand? Did you experience a challenged relationship, a sadness bred from isolation, new anxieties, a shake up of self esteem, or a desire to re-calibrate life/career goals or more? What do you want to carry forward from this experience and what do you want to release? I offer compassionate, supportive, resourceful, pragmatic collaboration to help you balance these awarenesses. Together, we will set achievable goals and reclaim your resources within, so that you, and your relationships can move forward in a positive way.