Transgender Therapists in Grand Lake, Oakland, CA

Folks come to therapy for a variety of reasons that all boil down to change, whether they're struggling to handle it or make it. Many of my clients' lives don't align with societal norms, either intentionally coloring outside the lines or struggling to fit in. Folks may find themselves overwhelmed, dealing with big emotions, the effects of complex or single-event trauma, complex medical issues, or chronic pain. I am passionate about working with the LGBTQ+ - including trans kids and their families, disabled, and neurodiverse populations. I like to work with individuals, couples, polycules, and families of all shapes and sizes.

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.

I believe that experiencing loving, nurturing relationships is the best part of being alive. I also recognize that for many of us, creating and maintaining such relationships can be incredibly hard. I view psychotherapy as a means to explore whatever is currently blocking our path to healthy, fulfilling and supportive connections--both to others and to ourselves. Sometimes that means building skills we never learned in the first place. Other times that means examining challenging past experiences. Whatever the circumstances, I am here to support your journey toward growth, fulfillment, and ultimately, greater joy.

Are you looking for a consistent touchstone in your week or every other week that offers support in what you're navigating in your life? If you are looking to build your toolbox and develop your sense of empowerment to navigate this world, then we can work on that together. I work with clients seeking a combination of talk therapy and mindfulness practices to develop their intuition and a compassionate relationship with their inner world, and who are seeking to build more peace in their nervous systems, relationships, and environments. If you’d like to take a step, contact me today for a consultation.

Right now, you are all the ages you have ever been. Your younger self may have been judged, in pain, & so alone that it feels unbearable. These misunderstood emotions can make it a struggle to put words to your experience. I’m here to be with you during this process of revealing those hidden parts—leaving behind what no longer serves you. Trauma-informed holistic therapy can free us from our self-limiting beliefs to move us into an embodied experience of loving ourselves. Together, we will explore how your unique temperament & experiences have shaped you. It's your birthright to exist & to create a purposeful life.

Are you feeling hopeless or lost? Do you think you have to go through life alone? Are you holding yourself back? Often we think that life is supposed to be hard. How would you feel if you could move forward and live life with ease? Many people feel shut down and despairing; I want you to know that the answers are already inside of you. I can work with you to help find solutions. People who work with me learn to experience life with joy, peace, and freedom.

I work with people who face challenges that often arise but are not exclusive to the second half of life such as: the trauma of illness & death, caring for aging parents, loss of satisfaction or sense of meaning in relationships and work, loss of a job, and/or loneliness. I also work with folks suffering from love addiction or love avoidance. These challenges can often be baffling and carry symptoms such as depression, fear and anxiety. The rational mind may understand what is going on but somehow the emotional and physical body can't always take solace in rational solutions.

Now Accepting New Clients — Do you feel stuck in the same loops, repeating old patterns, emotional struggles, and self-defeating behaviors? Through a mindfulness-based, somatic, and trauma-sensitive approach, I support you to develop more compassionate awareness to break these cycles, let go of limiting beliefs and be free to live the life you want. Therapy can help you feel more grounded and confident so that you can better navigate relationships, life transitions, and daily stressors. My style is warm, authentic and direct - I'm here to help you develop greater self-awareness and discover new ways of moving through the world.

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.

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.

Are you wanting to feel better once and for all? Maybe you can't move on from the past or you're worried about your future. If anxiety, panic, or even depression is stealing your joy, I get it. If traditional talk therapy hasn't helped you feel better, it's time to try a new approach to heal at the source of your pain. For 12 years I have refined my approach through professional training and experience in Relational-gestalt therapy and Brainspotting (derived from EMDR) while centering social justice and trauma-informed care.

My main goal with providing therapy is for you to become free from the fears and secrets that might have brought you in. Many of us feel tormented by our anxieties and catastrophic thinking, which inevitably interferes with our relationships and ability to be the person we wish. Using an insight-oriented approach, I work with children and adults who often feel impending doom or have had a major trauma, such as early abandonment or sexual abuse in their life. I also see couples who struggle with common goals and intimacy.

We all have the capacity to feel a full array of emotions, which serve to both protect us and connect us to others. However, often due to socialization, family of origin, or individual temperament, we learn that some emotions are dangerous to feel and express. Through individual therapy, the therapist is the "trusted other" who can help both acknowledge and witness the emotions that may have been long hidden. When these emotions are uncovered, we can more easily discover our true want and needs.