Attachment-based Therapists in Berkeley, CA

You really can have a life where you feel more connected, self assured, happier and at peace. You probably have been struggling for awhile and now you are ready to courageously face the difficulties that have kept you from living your best life. Your difficulties may stem from an unsatisfying relationship, unfulfilling job, history of trauma, or you may be worried about your child.

Damaged relationships with the world and our families can affect us deeply throughout our lives leaving us feeling isolated, uncomfortable in our bodies and generally unsafe. Our energy begins to decline along with our enthusiasm for life. Its confusing. We quietly stonewall everything and everyone while wishing for the right partner, right career and right friends. Feelings of insecurity, loneliness or shame can spiral into deep bouts of depression, acting out, despair and suicide. Prioritizing the needs of everyone else can lead to unhealthy behaviors and choices supplanting authenticity and joy, while swapping virtual reality for real relationships and happiness.

Are you feeling stuck, blocked, or living less fully than you would like? Maybe you would like to feel more embodied, alive, and confident. Whether it is fear, trauma, or stories we tell about ourselves and others, there are many obstacles that prevent us from thriving. I am here to support you on your journey toward wholeness.

CURRENT OPENINGS Hello! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who utilizes an integrative and collaborative approach to create a strong alliance with each individual. I provide a holding space that fosters healing through self-awareness and building insight. My style is respectful, compassionate, and direct. I have extensive experience with goal-oriented approaches, as well as a deep understanding for how social and cultural contexts impact our lives. In addition, my work is influenced by psychoanalytic theory and attachment theory, and is informed by an awareness of trauma, including complex and inter-generational trauma.

Dr. Akshay Naresh is a clinical psychologist and has worked with patients across the lifespan in various contexts including community mental health clinics, hospitals, and educational facilities (secondary, community colleges, & universities). He has experience working with a wide range of mental health concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, body image issues, eating disorders, relationship issues, gender and sexual identity, and multi-cultural issues. He uses an integrative approach to create a space for meaningful life changes by helping patients develop self-compassion, self-acceptance, and self-awareness.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my profile! My practice is largely geared toward supporting individuals, couples and families in navigating difficulties and transitions (relationship dynamics, grief, stress, anxiety, and disconnection) as well as those seeking a deeper connection with themself or others. I have a special interest in supporting male identified folks, emerging adults (16 and up), as well as those who feel firmly, or not so firmly, planted in the adulting world. I also specialize in supporting caregivers of children of any age.

For therapy to work, you must feel safe enough to express your most distressing feelings and thoughts. It is essential that you feel heard, seen, and understood. Your therapist must be able to accompany you, with knowledge, safety and empathy, through the depths of your pain to transformance. I strive to be that kind of therapist for my clients. Before becoming a therapist, I practiced law for 14 years in a large metropolitan law firm. I became a therapist because therapy was personally transformative for me and because I passionately believe that therapy can be life-changing.

I am passionate about offering strengths-based and client-centered therapy while providing a safe and welcoming atmosphere to help clients navigate through the challenges that life may bring. I will focus on your strength and your progress along the way. I have supported many members of the LGBTQIA community with a variety of concerns, including assisting some on their gender journey. I have also supported women with trauma, clients with anxiety disorders, and issues around perfectionism, identity, and purpose. I have also enjoyed working with adolescents and those that dance to the beat of their own drum.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a holistic, mind/ somatic (body) approach to healing. I serve people of diverse and multi-cultural backgrounds and have been trained in various body/mind/energy methods. My training includes: Somatic Experiencing for trauma resolution, EMDR, Jin Shin energy work as well as Hakomi Mind/Body Psychotherapy. .

By utilizing mindfulness based practices, expressive arts therapy and a collaborative, person centered approach, I can support you in moving through life’s challenges and centering your joy. My experience in the mental health field includes providing care for transition aged foster youth, LGBTQ Seniors and youth, and as a therapist in a healthcare setting. Through these experiences, I’ve developed a passion for working with teens, adults, and seniors. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I approach therapy though a systems lens, and I can also support you in navigating social and political pressure on you and your community.

Triumph Over Trauma East Bay provides trauma-informed counseling services in Berkeley for Individuals, Couples and Families.

There is a crisis of meaning and purpose in our society and far too few communities of support to guide us through the difficulties of modern life. I work with clients using psychodynamic, interpersonal and mindfulness-based approaches to help people move from lives of loneliness and alienation to lives of connection and purpose. Creating a safe and nurturing relationship with my clients is of primary importance in my work.

Are you unsatisfied with your life, bored with your daily routine, isolated, trapped in a job you dislike, forgot what it feels like to be really happy? Are you just getting by, keeping your head above water, using one distraction after another, such as social media, apps, shopping, routine drinking, exotic vacations, or trying the latest new restaurant, etc? Please allow me to assist you in achieving authentic peace and happiness.

Therapy is a private space for you to get help with issues that have become overwhelming to you, out of your control, or urgent in some way. Sessions are designed to help you clarify the nature of the problem, identify clear goals, and set a course for recovery/healing. Talking together in ways which nurture curiosity and compassion, we will look at what troubles you, what brings you hope. We will be attentive to the past, but our focus will be on how the past's legacy is impacting your life now. Our work will be relieving of past pains/traumas and will bring more calm and ease, a greater sense of connectedness in present time.

I have been licensed as an MFT working somatically, for over 30 years. I'm interested in what isn't working in your present life that brings you to therapy, what is unresolved from past relationships that you'd like to clear up, and what comes up in our relationship as we get to know one another. These facets help us create a complex experience which can transform old stuck patterns. Through the lens of my somatic training, clients can include their felt experiences in their bodies as an additional resource for exploring and understanding themselves. I also use a feminist and social justice orientation.

Profound change comes through understanding and knowing ourselves. You can express yourself more clearly and be more fully yourself. I help people tap into their ability to understand themselves and those close to them, and communicate with love and respect. Sometimes, creating better relationships requires engaging in processes of healing old wounds and traumas. My goal is to help you, and with couples, you and your partner and families become happier.

Wondering what needs to change for you to feel better than you do now, or having trouble making it happen? I believe that the struggles we face in our lives are invitations for us to grow. Seeking support for life's challenges is a courageous and powerful choice; consider me a partner on your road toward empowerment. I have a special interest in working with clients navigating intersectional identities: creative and intellectual seekers overcoming struggle, working to find their unique path in the world. Many of my clients are artists, activists, or environmentally conscious folks committed to personal and collective healing.

I will endeavor to travel with you fearlessly, honestly and directly through the battles you are facing as a professionally-trained, impartial friend ... who you avoid eye contact with at the supermarket. I work mostly conversationally, but enjoy tangents into creative expression to bypass well-worn defensive structures of the overly-relied-on brain.

You don’t need to suffer so much. In these uncertain and unsettling times, I create the safety to explore difficult feelings and navigate challenges in relationships, work, health and spirit. For over thirty years, I have helped couples and individuals let go of the unnecessary suffering that comes when we try to escape the realities of our lives. While I work with a wide variety of clients and issues, one aspect of my approach never changes – we seek truth. I have found that being with the truth of our lives is the most reliable path to positive and lasting change.