Therapists in Montclair, Oakland, CA

I work with clients who are looking to overcome their current challenges and lead a more fulfilling life or just process their life events. They seek therapy because they understand that professional guidance can provide them with the tools, insights, and support they need to achieve their goals. Ultimately, my clients want to experience greater happiness, satisfaction, and well-being either in their relationships or individually. They recognize that investing in their mental health and personal development is a valuable and transformative endeavor.

My approach is grounded in Cognitive-Behavioral and Attachment Theories. I also incorporate the practices of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). I aspire to meet clients where they are, and help each individual to work on his or her expressed goals. I enjoy taking this journey with clients to navigate some of their most difficult and challenging moments in life, to help prevent troubled kids or young adults from more serious trouble, and to help all clients who seek my support turn their life's biggest challenges into opportunities for growth and lasting change.

Starting therapy can be daunting. Perhaps you are in crisis and feeling overwhelmed. Or you have long meant to get help with an issue, but it feels hard to know where to start. I am skilled at helping people find the part of themselves that most urgently needs to be attended to.

Do you find yourself stuck in painful ways of relating to yourself or others? I can work with you to recognize these patterns, understand why they developed, and loosen their grip on your life today. Through the therapy relationship, we can develop a trusting environment to explore your thoughts and feelings, personal history, and relationships. In this way, we can create enough distance from these painful experiences and ways of relating to allow for greater freedom and satisfaction in your relationships, work, and creative life.

Right now, you are doing something very courageous! You are taking the first step toward a more meaningful and rich life. You might sense that your thoughts and feelings are holding you back from truly living your life. You might have had traumatic life experience(s) that shaped your life in a way that is unfulfilling and terrifying. You might feel plagued by depression and/or anxiety, feel uncomfortable in your own skin or as if you are not performing to your best abilities. I want to commend you for taking this step and I would feel honored to be on this journey with you, helping you live a more satisfying, engaged and full life.

Trauma comes in many forms. It can be from childhood abuse, car accidents, toxic work environment, toxic relationship, racial injustice, war, rape, bullying, natural and manmade disasters like wildfires and earthquakes. You may have the symptoms of PTSD but not have explicit memories of the traumatizing experience. EMDR walks you through a series of steps to help decrease the symptoms of PTSD (nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, insomnia, avoidance and hopelessness about the future). It also helps to map out a plan to deal with future triggers and gives a renewed and positive belief system about the self. I offer a free consultation.

I am passionate about attuning to and embracing all parts of the self and exploring the fullness of your identity, expression, and experience, with the therapeutic relationship being at the heart of our work together. My practice intends to create a space of safety and depth as we explore and move through complex emotions and experiences toward your goals throughout this collaborative process. My style is curious, playful, and direct, while you and I use the therapeutic relationship as a laboratory within which to facilitate the meaningful changes that will reconnect you with yourself, with life, and with the people around you.

I'm a sex and relationship therapist helping folks create fulfilling relationships with themselves and those most important to them. I love working with partners seeking more passion and intimacy in long-term relationships; those longing to rebuild trust and erotic connection after betrayal; non-monogamous partners or those curious about opening up; folks struggling with sexual challenges and partners who want to fight less and enjoy each other more. Additionally, I enjoy working with folks facing big life transitions, work stressors, relationship and/or erotic challenges and those wanting to shift unhealthy patterns and behaviors.

AUTHENTICITY, ALIVENESS, and CONNECTION are vital ingredients to living a healthy and meaningful life. Unfortunately these qualities do not always receive the proper attention needed to thrive. As a result, we develop coping strategies that often lead us to not getting what we want in life, leaving us feeling stuck, anxious, depressed, and hopeless. Therapy provides a unique opportunity to explore the unconscious patterns that keep us stuck. Therapy can help you make meaningful change to live the life you wish and to create the relationships you long for.

Everyone is doing the best that we can. It's not always easy to see this. Life is challenging at best. It drains hope from our lives at its worst. When we are able to hold ourselves in the best light, life and the world take on greater meaning and purpose. I work to help clients accept they are doing their level best, while facilitating them to develop more self-compassion. Accepting ourselves without judgement allows us to the see the gifts that we are, and use our challenges as points of growth.

Stress, burnout, and feeling overwhelmed by work or personal relationships. Are you struggling in very demanding jobs, overwhelmed by current events, or difficult transitions in your personal life? Maybe you want to change, but don’t quite know what’s holding you back or how to do it. It may be a feeling in the pit of your stomach when you wake up, or getting worn down by the relentless self-criticism. Maybe you don't feel understood by others and feel judged or mistreated. I understand how hard and impossible it can all seem, but it’s not too late to start to feel better. I help people break out of patterns that hold them back.

Are you stressed, anxious or depressed? I will listen kindly and focus on your path to getting better. Together, we will identify reachable goals and a plan that you can commit to. This might include CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), EMDR (eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing) or just talking and learning mindfulness and healthy habits. I believe in an integrative approach to wellness. If you want, we can do therapy while walking in nature.

Welcome, you had the courage to take the first step towards your journey of healing! While life throws many obstacles at us and we cannot predict the outcome of any situation, we can learn to can control how we respond. With my therapeutic support you will develop the tools needed to gain acceptance, use your voice and reclaim your power. I can help you arrange the pieces of your puzzle in a way that creates a healing space to learn to manage your triggers, stand in your truth and live the life you deserve. I am passionate about providing a safe, nonjudgmental space to practice this work.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) offering Teletherapy services only. My private practice provides individual therapy and couples counseling for people from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds and a wide variety of concerns. I offer therapy in English, Spanish and Portuguese. As an immigrant from Brasil, I also understand firsthand cross-cultural issues so I can help people who are having difficulties adapting to a new country.

If you are seeking a deeper understanding of why you or your child struggles with focusing or learning, then I can help clarify what is getting in the way of reaching one's full potential. You may wonder if there is a name for the difficulty (e.g., is it dyslexia? ADHD?) or you may be unsure if having such a name would be helpful. More importantly, you are wanting a better sense of the strengths and weaknesses that you or you child have and what strategies and interventions would be most helpful.

My clinical approach to working with teen and adult clients is to provide a safe as well as non-judgemental place to process difficult emotions and situations that may be hindering a healthy and balanced life. I work from a client centered and relationship based model allowing for optimal growth to shift the patterns that are causing you to feel stuck. This enables change, positivity, and renewed energy in your life. Some common reasons people seek therapy are; difficulties with peer relationships, depression, life transitions, stress, substance use, self esteem and body image, parenting, academic performance, and family conflict.

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.

Seeking to deepen your intimacy in relationships with romantic and/or non-romantic partners? Desiring a fuller sexual expression & pleasure in your experience? Have you desired to enliven your sex life? Or, perhaps you are desiring restorative healing, justice, & repair from childhood sexual abuse / have had non-consensual, sexual experiences; either being the victim or the transgressor and require integral support. I can help you. I facilitate individuals and couples heal and recover from personal, collective, and intergenerational trauma to come back into authentic, embodied connection through intimacy from the inside out.