Couples Counseling Therapists in Berkeley, CA

I love working with clients who want to be free of ingrained patterns that aren't working, whether from sub-optimal parenting or other experiences. Often these patterns are held in place through painful and threatening feelings stemming from conditioning or our natural dependency on challenged parents. I resource and support clients' present lives, which may mean touching in to what happened to connect to a source of reactivity. Clients who enjoy working with me want more aliveness and freedom, more flow and resilience. They want encouragement & new challenges, and will attend to their experience, unfolding the paths forward.

Life can resemble an ocean. Distress may seem like waves coming ashore, back and forth, sometimes so large they knock us off balance. In one's pursuit of discovering calm waters, the unforeseen tides of life can make peace and relief difficult to grasp. The silver lining is that you don't have to navigate these waters alone. Whether your goal is to heal, process grief and loss, repair a relationship , navigate difficult life transitions, better manage your emotions, address unprocessed trauma, unpack racial and cultural life factors, experience relief from depression and anxiety or to just rediscover YOU, hope is here for you!

I work with individuals, couples and families who are experiencing relationship issues, stress and life transitions. The therapy involves an interactive, problem-solving and insight-oriented approach. I use a relational, developmental attachment and family systems model to help my clients become more of who they aspire to be.

While my approach is interactive and relational, my aim is to meet you where you are with a great deal of warmth, respect and patience. I see therapy as a collaborative process and I am dedicated to providing a welcoming, non-judgmental space where we can address your hopes for therapy together. I enjoy working with individual adults, adolescents and couples .

Welcome to my private psychotherapy practice for individuals and couples . I specialize in the areas of pregnancy and maternal wellbeing; parenting and attunement; and love and relationships. I provide a safe collaborative space where we can unpack challenges together at your own pace with curiosity and compassion.

I am a psychotherapist located in Berkeley, California. I see my role as a collaborator on your healing journey, and I take great care to develop a therapeutic relationship that is grounded in trust & honesty. My intention for our therapeutic work is to support you in restoring balance between mind, body & spirit through trauma-informed and embodied practices. When we meet, I will offer you an opportunity to work experientially, as well as to share through talking. Whatever approach we employ, I hope you will leave each session feeling supported and accompanied on your journey.

I am a Berkeley clinical psychologist who has been in practice for thirty nine years. I see children, adolescents, adults, couples /families who are seeking help for relationship problems, depression, anxiety, post-trumatic stress, losses and life transitions. I am known for my excellent dedicated patient care, warmth, trustworthiness, problem solving and good sound advice. I provide a supportive environment to enhance healing and change. I enjoy working with business leaders and helping employees with work related difficulties.

My work is practical, eclectic, and deep. I am gentle and caring, yet focused and effective. I utilize mindfulness, cognitive therapy, and psychodynamic understanding to help clients make the changes they want. I value diversity, and I look to see the goodness and strength of each person I meet. My interest in psychotherapy began with my own healing as a young man, and I have continued to grow as a person and a therapist.

Healthy relationships, including the one with ourselves, are essential to our well-being. When problems become too much to manage, the therapy relationship provides a supportive space for recovery and personal growth. Discussing your experiences with a caring professional makes it possible to explore thoughts and feelings as they show up. Regular meetings support the process, offering the chance to know yourself more fully over the course of therapy.

To live in America in 2022 is to experience some sort of emotional stress and overwhelm. In the age of information, we are exposed to trauma on a daily basis. The messaging that the world gives us is "do more" and "work harder". We rarely are encouraged to prioritize ourselves, create and enforce healthy boundaries and make time for the things in our lives that bring us peace. If you've been "grinding" and you are now looking up and asking yourself "what is this all for if I'm not enjoying my life", then you are in the right place. I can support you in doing the work it takes to achieve your peace!

Sometimes we get stuck, in our own heads, in unhelpful behavior, or as a couple. We strive for change but soon fall back into old habits, patterns, arguments or results. "It will be different this time, once again starts looking frustratingly familiar, but only with added dissappointment and sense of repeated failure. To some this may feel terrifying, to others hopeless. Whether you feel exhausted from worrying or trying to please others, or angry and frustrated with the situation, there is help. Toegther we can shift away from bandaid approaches with the goal of root-level healing and change.

Many people are struggling to live purposefully in the tension of our changing world. You may feel overwhelmed with emotions and experiences that are difficult to bear. Painful issues and conflicting feelings inside yourself and in your relationships are good reasons to seek a therapist. I provide a safe and thoughtful place where you can face your obstacles and increase your ability to live your life with more fullness and meaning. My approach is engaged and collaborative. I offer empathy, knowledge, and tools to help you understand yourself and others in new ways.

I work with children, teens, parents, adults, and couples who are struggling with various aspects of life and wanting to make a change. My goal is to help you identify issues getting in your way and support you in making the changes necessary to feel better and improve your quality of life. Patients often come see me because they are anxious, over-thinking, unproductive, struggling with a relationship , or because a recent transition is throwing them off balance. In therapy you will gain insight about yourself and develop the coping skills you need to let go of negative thinking, live more mindfully, and feel more confident.

When we find ourselves struggling with the kind of emotional pain that our usual strategies and supports can't relieve, good therapy is a lifeline. Like massage for physical injuries, psychotherapy effectively relieves chronic emotional pain, clears out unwanted emotional scar tissue, and creates flexibility, strength and new possibilities for positive motion in our lives. Whether you are worried about your own mental health, or the distress of someone you love, or are simply curious about how therapy might help, call/email me to schedule an initial conversation to talk about what kind of treatment is best for you.

We are wired to connect, but sometimes we need support around how we connect with others. I support clients who are looking to heal themselves from trauma, support current relationships, or just experience new ways of being in the world. I bring a trauma-informed approach to work with teens, individuals and couples experiencing loneliness, shame, anxiety, communication issues, self-criticism, depression, burnout and cPTSD.

Do you feel frustrated about the relationship with your spouse or partner ? Feeling like you are stuck in the same loop, arguing and losing connection? Does every discussion with your partner end up following the same unsatisfactory pattern, leaving you angry or frustrated? No one intentionally would like to be unhappy in their relationships. Practicing learned communication skills will resolve many conflicts and misunderstandings, take your relationship to a different comfort level, and will help you to become a better partner . Recovery therapy after divorce. Parenting skills. Coaching, Dating skills, Teletherapy sessions.

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.