Couples Counseling Therapists in Grand Lake, Oakland, CA

Welcome. I provide a warm, confidential space for adults of all ages to consider themselves in a new light. My belief is that we all have a natural inclination to develop and grow, to find connection and joy. Psychotherapy with the right person can help one move past roadblocks - whether new or longstanding - with an increased sense of meaning and ease. I work with clients from diverse backgrounds to clarify and expand their strengths, grieve losses, and reconnect with inner wisdom.

Currently full up and not accepting new clients! - In couples therapy with me, I help by teaching you communication strategies to help lessen defensiveness and increase empathy and warmth in your relationship . I intervene to stop or change interactions that are keeping you from getting the connection you want. I provide mediation and structure for difficult conversations. And by teaching in-the-moment self-regulation and co-regulation techniques, I help you and your partner to speak from and listen with your best selves.

Navigating through our human journey can be daunting, and everyone can benefit from support along the way. My role as a therapist is to help you gain more insight into the nature of your inner world and a greater perspective of your outer circumstances so that you can become empowered to create the intentional and meaningful life that you truly desire. With compassion and deep presence, we will identify unconscious patterns that are limiting you so that you can gain the awareness and tools needed to create effective changes for yourself.

If you're looking for a therapist, there's a good chance you're having a hard time or want to make changes in your life. That's where I can help. I provide a supportive environment for you to work through the thoughts, emotions and beliefs that may not be serving you. We will develop a plan that fits your lifestyle and puts you on a path toward the fulfillment, ease and well-being you deserve. I will accept you as you are, and help you become who you want to be.

Life is challenging. We all benefit from receiving support as we navigate transitions, relationships, and the constancy of change. I have 20 years' experience supporting people who span a diverse range of ages and cultural backgrounds. My approach integrates body and sensory awareness with relaxation practices. I offer information about how neurobiological processes impact functioning and experience. The therapeutic relationship is collaborative and dynamic as we observe and shift unhelpful patterns of thought and behavior. Some people choose to make art as part of most meetings; others prefer to mostly talk.

I am trained in EMDR, Emotional Focus Therapy and Hypnotherapy to support clients move past traumas that are interrupting their life. My area of specialization is relational trauma. Common symptoms of relational trauma are social anxiety, generalized anxiety, feeling disempowered to create the life you want, a painful inner critic, and you may struggle to trust your choices especially in relationships.

If you are an individual or couple who experiences frustration and unhappiness in relationships rather than the sense of ease and flow that you long for, I urge you to dare to hope it can be different and call me. The process I use does not usually take years, like you've been led to believe by popular media! It works well with many types of "personality symptoms," from relationship issues to depression, anxiety, fears and other specific ways in which you've been frozen out of the life you want to lead.

You just want to feel happy, to wake up and feel excited your life and relationships. Right now, you might be wondering if it’s possible to save your relationship . Maybe you are struggling with communication and you seem to have the same arguments over and over. Or perhaps you need targeted and specific help recovering from an affair or moving through a life transition. In couples therapy, I will focus on helping you develop a closer connection and greater security which will enable you to better communicate and more effectively address your concerns, whether they be sex, work, stress, chores, kids, etc.

Are you struggling, feeling stagnate, having trouble moving beyond traumatic events or having relationship difficulties? I help people get past these all too common problems. I create a warm, safe, and nurturing environment using a client-centered and holistic approach. Together we will determine what the important issues affecting your life are. We will discover how you can resolve those issues so you can move on. For the past 20 years I have provided individualized, kind, solution-based therapy and life coaching for people of all ages.

Your relationship with yourself is key to how happy you are at home, at work, and beyond. I collaborate one-on-one with clients to cultivate self-compassion and heal from old wounds so they can move from surviving to thriving. I act as a guide and sounding board, with a commitment to respecting each individual as the expert on their own experience. As a queer, genderfluid therapist and activist, I support partners in monogamous and consensual nonmonogamous relationships, and I’m committed to honoring and uplifting the lived experiences of people from underrepresented racial backgrounds, abilities, genders, and sexualities.

Are you struggling with how childhood experiences, losses or trauma continues to influence your life? Are you discouraged at repeating difficult situations or find it hard to get out from under depression or anxiety? I'm glad to see how we can put our minds together to understand your dilemmas and see things differently. Change is possible no matter what your age or your life circumstances when you feel seen, accepted and appreciated for who you are and where you've been.

I am a change oriented therapist and would like to support you in finding new solutions to old problems. I am part of a group practice that provides individual and group DBT, and I have experience working with addiction/alcoholism, trauma, bipolar disorder, and psychosis. My other passion is parenting and pregnancy as I ran a parenting program for 12 years. I understand the stresses facing parents with young children, and will provide a trusting relationship where you can develop skills and experience more joy in parenting.

I work with folks of all walks and identities, clear or uncertain, individually and in relationship . Life transitions that create doubt, confusion, and self-reproach are also opportunities for discovery, restructuring, and rebirth. Some that I've explored deeply include single parenthood, non-monogamous intimacy, alienation from family of origin, psychedelic exploration, and activist social/political engagement. Whether these are your identified areas of work or not, a spirit of exploration, patience, and curiosity will animate my interest in who you are and how you experience life.

I believe my job is to create a sense of safety in which we can think about the things you might have trouble thinking about. There may be parts of your history that are difficult and frightening to contemplate on your own. Together, we can help you begin to understand yourself, trust yourself, soften toward yourself, validate what is true for you, and eventually accept all the parts of you. I’ll want to understand your current difficulties in the context of your personal and family history, and will listen with curiosity and warmth to understand the way in which your history may be affecting your current situation.

Whether sitting with individuals or partners, I am here to remind you of what you already know but might have forgotten: you are enough. Many clients find their way to me because they want to work through challenges related to their identity, acculturation, sexuality, gender expression, relationship formation, and early traumas. My identities as a queer, non-monogamous, sex- and kink-positive, immigrant woman tend to attract potential clients who share some of these positionalities.

We all struggle with emotional upheaval during times of stress and transition. Excessive worry, sadness, shame and hopelessness impact our daily lives and those who love us. Couples and families are challenged with the loss of connection and attachment that leads family conflict and a lack of mutually gratifying relationships. By defining our values and our goals we can learn to clarify what is important in our lives and how to enjoy life despite the many challenges we face.

Life can be hard... And we don’t have to do it alone. I work with couples and individuals ranging in issues of anxiety, depression, grief/loss, self esteem, relationships, and parenting. My own painful experiences, and the work I have done to heal, have afforded me the ability to be present and sit with people in their own pain. I have a natural inclination to seek out deep connection with people which informs my work with clients. This can help my clients to deepen connections with others, outside of the room. I work with couples to strengthen connection, deepen intimacy, and find their voice within the partnership.