Therapists in Lakeshore, Oakland, CA

I'm a therapist of color creating a space for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) as it may often feel like traditional spaces weren’t created with you in mind…including therapeutic spaces. There are biases that lean toward values that aren't congruent with yours, which makes it difficult to be seen and heard for all of your intersectional identities. Healing can occur in myriad ways: through community, education, personal expression, or therapy. The therapy space I've created is free of judgement and oppressive values.

As humans, we are brilliantly complex, wired for connection, attachment, and survival. Our experience of joy and suffering are innately human and are connected to our physical and emotional wellness--inseparable realms. In somatic psychotherapy we hold space for the body to have a language of its own, honoring what it has to say, so that we may more clearly see what is beneath the surface. As a somatic psychotherapist, I am a collaborator, guide and mirror, supporting you in increasing your own sense of exploration of conscious and unconscious patterns of behaviors, beliefs, body signals and cues.

Seeking support can be difficult, especially if we become so accustomed to facing life's challenges alone. If we are able to reach out for support, taking that step can lead to real opportunities for growth and acceptance.

Most of us didn't learn how to communicate, manage conflict, and regulate our emotions in school. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad I can square dance, and plotting asymptotes is pretty sweet, TBH. But I remember when I took my first couples therapy class, I was blown away by how helpful it was, and I couldn't believe these tools weren't more widely available. Of course, the skills themselves are just the beginning; some of the couples who come to see me have already tried reading books, listening to podcasts, and even going to couples retreats, but they're still navigating the nuances of their recurring challenges.

Living a life that feels true to ourselves may take additional support and understanding. Sometimes life becomes overwhelming, either because we are faced with trauma, loss, illness and other transitions, or because we are experiencing unexplained feelings that are keeping us in a stuck place. I would like to work together with you to help you better understand yourself and create the changes that you want to see in your life. My style is relational and authentic. I want you to feel supported and better able to become who you want to be. I use mindfulness and CBT when helpful.

My goal is to help you become more authentic in your relationships, find and live your values, and bring more peace and growth into your life. I am trained in various approaches, and my skill set includes evidence based practices such as Seeking Safety and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. I provide culturally responsive care and I have over 15 years working with children, adolescents, youth who have probation histories, families and adults, and have experience with treating trauma, anxiety, and their impact on relationships.

We all carry wounds that run deeper than we’d like to admit. Sometimes these wounds continue to affect us in the present, seeping into our relationships and causing strife while we're yearning for peace. We may find ourselves caught in a cycle of triggers, mood shifts, or communication difficulties. I help couples address anxiety, codependency, trauma, and more in order to reclaim their lives and build the connection they want. As a queer therapist, I also specialize in working with LGBTQIA+ couples. My hope is to help you feel on the same team, so that you can safely trust and lean on each other while celebrating your autonomy.

My work as a therapist is to help individuals, couples, and families access new resources behind emotional struggles and life problems. I am trained in Jungian and Open Dialogue approaches and am a lifelong learner of the work of R.D. Laing. I am recognized internationally for my advocacy and training work in the psychiatric survivors movement and as a leader for new social responses to what gets called madness and psychosis. I see suffering, including what gets called psychosis, from outside the narrow mechanistic science, diagnostic label, and medication views.

I view therapy as a unique relationship between two people - the therapist and the client. Therapy is a process that fosters acceptance and change of the challenges people face and helps provide clarity. My goal is to help create a safe place to explore thoughts, feelings, and experiences that cause you pain, which may lead to difficulties in relationships, work, and/or daily life. Through this process we will create goals and a plan to reach your specific goals. My approach is genuine, compassionate, and non-judgmental. As a therapist, I bring over 20 years of experience working with individuals from many walks of life.

If you’re interested in taking steps towards personal growth, alleviating a chronic mental health issue, or coping with a stressful point in life, I am here to provide you with a non judgemental space, and unconditional support. Through our collaborative therapeutic relationship, we will partner to understand your strengths and struggles, and deepen insight into your life, goals, and values. My clinical approach honors the strength and wisdom you possess, so our work together will center around rearranging the puzzle pieces you already hold.

Expansive Therapy is a bicoastal therapy practice with locations in New York City and Los Angeles. We offer online therapy to individuals and couples anywhere in New York State and California State. We have a diverse team of therapists offering a wide variety of modalities and specialties, and all of us are LGBTQ affirming. Our mission at Expansive Therapy is to create a safe space to heal and grow, to expand the things that are working, and to encourage personal freedom.

Psychotherapy can be a truly life changing process. It works to gradually loosen stuck patterns in one's life, leaving more room for vitality and creativity. You may be trying to heal from past wounds, experiencing anxiety, loneliness, depression, or relationship difficulties. Or perhaps you feel relatively stable but have a sense that something deeper is missing.

If you're considering therapy, you may feel that you're not quite living up to your potential, not finding the connection you want in relationships, or generally feeling stuck, anxious, or frustrated without knowing why. Feelings like these are more common than you think, and therapy can help you move forward with more self-awareness and confidence.

Life is change...but some changes leave wounds that no one can see. I work with men..regular guys, who may never have thought that they would ever need to speak to "a professional'. I know how hard it is to talk about the things that are bothering you. I know what it is to be alone and hurting. There is no magic in what I do. You don't even have to talk about your feelings, if you don't want to.. I stop the bleeding, I clean the wounds, and I help the healing start.

My framework as a psychotherapist is inspired by black feminist sci-fi writer, Octavia E. Butler who saw the possibility of many more worlds than just our own. I believe that transformative internal healing is critical to envisioning and building these worlds without the presence of imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism and cishet-patriarchy. The tools I use to support the exploration of individual, interpersonal and intergenerational trauma are shaped by abolition that rejects punitive and scarcity mindsets and disability justice which strives to value every body.

My role as a psychotherapist is to help clients acknowledge and harness their innate strengths, to attain and sustain the well-being they are searching for. I am passionate about gently questioning unspoken norms and expectations, whether learned from family or society, that can limit our ability to connect with our most authentic selves. I empower clients to take supported risks, guiding the therapy with empathy, honesty, humor, and a belief in the transformative power of relationships.

I specialize in working with adult children of dysfunctional families of origin. I help folks who didn't receive emotional and psychological attunement from their parents as children, due to parental narcissism, trauma, substance abuse, and/ or mental illness, or due to abandonment, neglect, excessive criticism, and/ or abuse. I offer support with anxiety, finding one's voice, self-esteem, social anxiety, sensitivity, and life meaning, purpose, and transitions. I offer support in cultivating authentic connection and in healing struggles in relationships around assertiveness, boundaries, enmeshment, co-dependence, and isolation.

I'm Elizabeth, I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, clinical supervisor, and EMDR therapist working with adults, adolescents, and couples. I have experience working in eating disorder treatment which allowed me to work with individuals, families, and teens. I've also helped people struggling with trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and more. I’m a humanistic and client-centered therapist and that allows us to work together collaboratively to set goals. I also employ EMDR and trauma-informed care, and eclectic modalities.