Therapists in Berkeley, CA

If you find yourself seeking new ways to be in relationship to your life, yourself and others, the sensitive and attuned psychotherapy I provide can help. Using inquiry, dialogue, guided imagery, Enneagram explorations and the arts, we can work together to explore and untangle your distress and illuminate the creative solutions that lie within you.

I work with heterosexual and same-sex couples on issues of communication, integrating families, sexuality, power dynamics, attachment, trust, and infidelity. I also work with individuals on grief, relationship issues, depression and anxiety, spiritual inquiry, life transitions, and vocational calling. I hold an empathetic understanding of every client's unique worldview -- and respect how each individual arrives there. I provide compassionate, holistic, and practical support for your healing journey. Thank you for considering therapy as part of your path.

I offer a holistic approach, drawing on depth psychology, somatics, spirituality, psychedelic medicine, relational theory and social justice activism in my work with patients. I am interested in working closely with adults, adolescents and couples, supporting them in their development and helping them reach their goals.

I am a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist offering psychotherapy to adults, adolescents, and children. My training focuses on helping my clients improve their relationships with themselves and others, navigate life transitions, and heal from traumatic experiences. My overall approach seeks to provide a warm, trusting, nonjudgemental relationship in which you are deeply listened to and can safely and freely discuss your challenges, concerns, and vulnerabilities.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed caring for your children, ill spouse, elderly parents or others? When caretaking responsibilities demand so much time and energy, do you sometimes feel you've lost part of yourself? Perhaps you're afraid you are going to lose someone you love. Do you feel you must sacrifice yourself in order to have relationships leaving you wondering where you end and others begin? Can you only really be yourself when alone? Do you feel guilty or ashamed for resenting your situation? If you can relate to any of these difficulties, I can help.

You're here because you want more from life after loss and/or disappointment. Perhaps you've accomplished all you hoped for, and still feel incomplete. Or maybe nothing went as planned, and you're grappling with the loss of the life you so wanted for yourself. I work with high achievers and creatives who are used to making things happen for themselves, yet feel a general lack of joy and satisfaction (especially after achieving their goals or having arrived in mid-life). You might be asking yourself if this is all there is. I'm so glad you're here, because there absolutely is more if you're willing to go within to find it.

Welcome! Note: email is the best way reach me. Finding a therapist is daunting. The relationship tends to be the most consistent factor in whether therapy is successful, so I encourage you to trust your intuition. I work with adults (not couples) and adolescents over 14 on a variety of issues, including achieving greater mood stability, identity issues, improved relationships and sexuality, and recovery from trauma. I have experience working effectively with people who identify as trans, genderqueer, and those with diverse lifestyles. I also offer ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in collaboration w/Journey Clinical.

Most of us lug around a suitcase full of our thoughts, feelings, family history and past experiences and have no idea what's in there. Our current responses to and experience of life come from the contents of that suitcase. Together in therapy we gently unpack it. We will see what is working for you, what needs more support and what has served it's purpose but no longer works. I work collaboratively and am curious about all the things that make you who you are. I am particularly interested in working with people who feel misunderstood or unimportant.

Do you long for a deeper sense of peace, wholeness and connection to life? Do repetitive patterns prevent you from having a fulfilling life and satisfying relationships? Any issue or symptom, such as addiction, depression or anxiety, or an underlying sense of disconnection, fear or doubt, is a message from your unconscious that something inside Is out of alignment. We will collaboratively explore your experiences and their meaning to help you connect to yourself and life in a fuller and more satisfying way.

Do you feel lost or stuck? Disconnected from your body or emotional needs? Perhaps unfulfilled or as if you can't seem to break free from a relational pattern? I see you. You're not alone & I'm passionate about supporting you back home to your truest self. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, or are experiencing obstacles in your relationships, I want to work with you to gain more clarity & confidence around communication, needs, boundaries & intimacy. I believe that healing happens in relation- whether to self, other, or the environment & I am intentional about creating a conscious, trusted relationship with my clients.

Learn how to feel more connected to yourself, others and the world around you. Therapy provides all the elements of intimacy: honest communication, vulnerability and trust. Good therapy is challenging yet warm, providing both structure and empathy for your unique experience. We are a collective of therapists with a wide range of specialties. Our intake professionals will help connect you with the right therapist for your needs. We make appointments easy, offering evenings and weekends and flexibility for creative professionals who can't make the same time each week.

In life we can sometimes feel stuck in old patterns. Or maybe our sleep, eating, or job performance has changed. Mood, physical health, and mental health are all connected. Brain fog, tiredness, loss of interest (or sleepless nights, jittery days, etc) can mean the balance is off. These are times when therapy can help you understand the issues from a new point of view. Primarily, I see my job as one of listener and guide. Together, we can figure out what's keeping you from being a joyful resilient person. It takes courage and strength to ask for help. I am here if you are curious or ready to begin.

Learn how to feel more connected to yourself, others and the world around you. Therapy provides all the elements of intimacy: honest communication, vulnerability and trust. Good therapy is challenging yet warm, providing both structure and empathy for your unique experience. We are a collective of therapists with a wide range of specialties. Our intake professionals will help connect you with the right therapist for your needs. We make appointments easy, offering evenings and weekends and flexibility for creative professionals who can't make the same time each week.

I work with individuals, adults and children, who are struggling with relationships, hoping to make peace with overwhelming trauma histories, or seeking support to cope with difficult life transitions. Many of my clients come to therapy with feelings of lostness in regard to work, social life, love, and connection to passionate pursuits, looking to find clearer direction and purpose in their life.

Your body is always communicating information to you, and your emotions are the messenger. Maybe it's the consistent feeling of overwhelm, or the throws of depression. Maybe you are experiencing physical pain as a result of emotional pain. Whatever it is, I believe in the wisdom of your body and I want to help you become an expert at your own body language so that you can have more autonomy over your life.

I specialize in working with individuals suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression, both circumstantial and life-long, perinatal/maternal mental health struggles, challenging life transitions and developmental stages, relationship building/separating, parenting, first-time, brave therapy seekers and an essential desire to be understood. It can be intimidating to begin the process of self-exploration. It is not a simple endeavor. Each individual is unique as is one's process of self discovery and improved mental health. With the right match between psychotherapist and therapy seeker, the process can feel immensely useful.

Confidence and connection are the key ingredients for a meaningful life, but they can be compromised in times of stress or transition. The foundations of the past, once familiar and secure, are shaken. Anxieties encroach. Connections are lost. Yet, I believe that despite the pain and difficulty of these phases, there is immense potential for positive change and personal growth. Helping you discover that potential is what I love most about my work, so I encourage you to reach out to me to get started today. You can email me at vanpeltcounseling@gmail.com or text me at 510-859-4448 to set up a free consultation. I will respond ASAP.

The decision to begin psychotherapy can come about for a variety of reasons. This may be your first time in therapy or it’s just the right time to get a fresh perspective. You may be struggling with feelings and experiences that are hard to make sense of, like grief, anxiety, loneliness, stress, exhaustion, shame, anger, and/or emptiness. You may feel stuck, like you’ve tried everything, and nothing is working. It’s getting to be more difficult to stay motivated, to stay focused, and to enjoy the things that you love. Psychotherapy can help to relieve these stressors and reduce anxiety and depression.

I honor the process of reclaiming space around one's identity, spirituality, sexuality, ethnicity, internal and external environment, and relationships to others. My desire is to make space to ask questions, hold doubt, and walk alongside to a place of reclaiming for yourself. Areas of interest include religious trauma and spiritual reclamation, embodiment, identity formation, dream work, grief/loss, cultural and generational trauma, and working with artists and creativity.