Couples Counseling Therapists in Shafter, Oakland, CA

My clients are people struggling with a transition in their lives; initiating independence as a teenager or young adult, wrestling with a new gender or new role as a significant other / parent, newly dealing with depression, traumatic memories or substance abuse. My approach to psychotherapy is collaborative and interactive with the goal of creating a safe environment that will enable you to explore your thoughts and feelings related to present difficulties. I work with the idea of relieving one's immediate suffering with the longer term goal of how to better understand oneself and one's relationship to the world around you.

Everyone has their ups and downs. Life can be stressful and challenging at times. These are the times when it can be helpful for you to talk with someone to support you getting through a difficult time. Whether you have a child having difficulty in school, an adolescent transitioning into adulthood, relationship issues with a partner, or other life stressing events, I provide a safe space to help manage these challenges.

Without meaning and the chance to therapeutically practice new insights and behaviors, we may suffer unnecessarily during times of high stress, trauma, or in daily life. Feelings may become an overwhelming flood of dread, sorrow or numbness; thinking becomes confused, panicky, and self-critical; joy, spontaneity and self-trust may feel lost. Together we can make good use of your strengths, symptoms and external challenges. Through exploring and deepening our understanding and trust in your own inner world, dignity and liveliness may be restored even under the most challenging or enduring of circumstances, illnesses or problems.

I specialize in helping adults and adolescents who are struggling with depression, anxiety, relationships, or identity issues. Changing things in life - whether in relationships with others, at work, or just in the day to day - can be hard to do on your own. I work to help you understand yourself on a new level, recognize patterns in your life that are keeping you from feeling how you want to feel, having the relationships you want to have, and achieving the accomplishments you hope to achieve.

I have over 12 years experience working with adults, children, and adolescents experiencing relationship problems, anxiety and mood concerns, emotional and/or behavioral troubles, trauma and loss, and difficulties with burnout and the compassion fatigue of caring for loved ones with these issues. If you are an adult attempting to work through such difficulties in your life, the partner of someone having these problems, or if you are a parent seeking help for your child, I would welcome a chance to talk with you about how I may help.

Therapy can help you overcome difficulties, live creatively, and feel more alive. Many people become stuck in ways of thinking and living that no longer serve them. Through a caring therapeutic relationship, you can develop the courage to live in a meaningful and fulfilling way. Over the past 25 years, I have helped people with a wide variety of issues work through significant challenges, freeing them to make better choices. In addition to my clinical work, I teach and supervise at various training programs throughout the Bay Area, and was the Director of Counseling at California College of the Arts for 15 years.

Are you struggling to connect with a partner or child who is increasingly irritable and withdrawn? Has your family member turned to substances to cope with increased stress? As a wife and mother, I know how heart-wrenching it is to watch someone you love struggle and to be pushed away when you show caring. They may tell you nothing’s wrong, but your concern doesn’t just turn off like a switch. In fact, that may be part of the problem. Do you feel selfish when you think about how much you're struggling? This is a common feeling to have - but any therapist would tell you from experience - you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Couples want to feel better. Couples often find themselves caught in patterns of conflict that they would love to get out of. Most couples dream of living with better communication and less conflict. Fortunately, couples counseling was made for this. Whether you're looking for couples counseling to increasing the level of commitment in your relationship, wanting to deepen your connection, or really struggling to keep the connection alive - you're not alone and there is help.

People come to therapy with unique needs, concerns, and life circumstances. Through the process of self-inquiry, I help clients gain insight and develop effective coping skills to move through a challenge with greater ease and understanding. My therapeutic style is warm, compassionate and curious about one's experience. I use an attachment based, person-centered approach that offers individuals and couples clarity around repetitive patterns that cause pain, conflict, and limit growth.

I offer therapy services to help you understand challenges you are facing, learn ways to actualize your full potential, and overcome barriers that get in the way of living a happy and fulfilling life. I work with individual clients and couples who are facing anxiety, depression, life transitions, loss, trauma, and challenges at work or in relationships. As an interactive, solution focused therapist with over 20 years of experience, I am here for you.

I have a lifelong commitment to exploring our interconnections with our selves, our families, our significant others, our coworkers/neighbors, and our natural world. I see many of our personal challenges, which tend to manifest as anxiety and depression, correspond with disconnected patterns that leave us stuck, emotionally, cognitively, somatically, and spiritually. As a California registered associate marriage and family therapist, I work with clients to heal existing interconnections and cultivate new ways of being in connection.

In an atmosphere of acceptance, understanding and clarity, I am here to support your relationship with yourself. Using tools such as mindfulness, insight, somatic and narrative approaches, I create a space where the many parts of you are welcome. Goal setting is a collaborative process and therapy can be long or short term depending on your needs. I deeply support the listening process, as well as the interplay between individual needs and relationship needs. I have a particular orientation towards meaning and purpose, and I draw from your values as a means of integrating both difficult and inspiring experiences.

People turn to therapy when they are in too much emotional pain, stuck in intractable situations with intimate partners or at work, or acting in ways that are self-destructive or harmful to others. When other solutions have not worked, therapy offers a chance to address and change outmoded ways of being. The therapeutic relationship is key to this work. It offers the possibility of exploring new ways of relating to ourselves and others that can lead to a richer and more fulfilling life. The therapist must provide a place of safety and be a partner in this process.

If you are coping with anxiety, sadness, relationship conflict, stress, or parenting challenges I help you manage difficult feelings and reduce your suffering. If you and your partner can't talk without arguing, have lost trust, or lost the spark and want to connect we'll identify what's keeping you from being close and develop the secure connection you want. If you are having trouble getting pregnant or needing help from outside parties to create your family we'll work through any difficult feelings and explore your options for family building so you can make decisions that build your family and fit your values.

I work towards developing a relationship with you where you can feel safe to express your feelings, talk about your concerns and think creatively about old patterns and past worries that may be holding you back from living life more fully. I strive to create a therapeutic environment where you will gain more awareness and learn to live in a creative and playful manner while developing the capacity to know and realistically meet your own needs. You will find me to be warm, interested, creative, and curious therapist.

Awarded Oakland Magazine's "Best Therapist" 2018 & 2020, my specialties include: relationship issues (such as conflict resolution, dating, pre-marital counseling, divorce, blended families, infidelity); grief & loss; addiction, recovery & codependence; anxiety & depression. My approach is both warm and direct-- my clients experience me as accepting and empathic, while also feeling challenged the right amount to grow and change. I am an integrative therapist, meaning I integrate more than one way/theory/model to view and treat psychological and/or relational concerns. See my website for education, experience and credentials.

I am a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety problems like stress, worry or OCD as well as health problems such as illness or chronic pain. If you are coping with any of these conditions, I can help you. Anxiety and pain can leave you feeling stuck, and overwhelmed, especially when you feel pressure to perform or make life decisions. I have a strong background in evidence-based treatments and focus on practical, results-oriented treatments that have been proven effective. No matter what challenges you are facing, we can work together to reduce uncomfortable feelings and help you live a happier and more fulfilled life.

My work is integrative, blending depth psychology with studies in attachment, neuroscience, and relational and developmental psychology. I am influenced by analytic traditions which contain a focus on trauma, and studies in contemporary neuroscience, which show how our brains process our affective (emotional) experience, particularly in the context of relationship. In addition to discussing your current and historical life experiences in our sessions, we may incorporate your dreams and somatic (body) mindfulness practices, such as exploring body sensations and their emotional counterparts.

Orah Krug PhD. is recognized in her field as a master clinician, supervisor, teacher and author. She has been a licensed psychotherapist for over 30 years and an adjunct professor at Saybrook University for over 15 years. Through decades of client work, research and teaching Orah has developed a comprehensive process applicable for individuals or couples.