Therapists in Oakland, CA

Most people seek out a psychologist when they have truly done their best to resolve their difficulties on their own. When you can't see your own emotional blind spots, feeling stuck and distressed can ripple through many areas of your life. Perhaps this is your first time seeking out a therapist, or perhaps you are returning to psychotherapy for a fresh perspective. As a psychologist with over 17 years of experience, I have a seasoned understanding of what leads people to hit roadblocks in their lives, in areas including work, school, marriage, parenting, family, and intimate relationships.

I am bilingual in Spanish, and offer therapy for individual adults, couples, families, teens, and children 6 and older. My specialties include trauma, interpersonal violence (IPV), and loss, especially for human beings who have experienced displacement and/migration. I offer services for expecting and new mothers to aid in the transitions and attachment issues that arise. Also I am interested in bridging periods in human development. I embrace a culturally humble stance, and am LBGT welcoming.

As a psychotherapist, I help clients redefine how they live their lives. I am a licensed clinical social worker who sees children, adolescents and families as well as individual adults. By engaging in a series of conversations, I will help you to challenge the problematic assumptions and ways of being that prevent you from realizing the full potential of your life. I work from a colloborative stance that assumes you are the expert on your life. But my own expertise in helping people overcome emotional problems, troublesome habits and relationship roadblocks can help you create new solutions to old problems.

You're welcome to learn about my Consultation and Evaluation practice. In brief, I have a developmental life span relationship-based biopsychosocial approach to viewing most difficulties in life. I use a thorough assessment, observation, and testing approach because you or your child is unique and needs specific issues addressed precisely. Let's work together to find solutions that allow you or your child to develop and change in healthy ways.

Are you having the same conflict over and over again with your partner, adolescent daughter, parent, friend, or boss? Are you feeling ambivalent about having a child or do you already have a child and feeling stuck with your parenting skills? Are you and your partner struggling with infertility issues? Are you feeling depressed, anxious, or wanting to revamp your life? If any of these questions resonate with you then I may be able to help you. I have successfully worked with people dealing with similar life challenges; I hope to have the chance to work with you too.

I welcome those into my practice who are struggling with a range of issues, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. I am trauma-informed, with twenty years of experience working with adults, children and families. I have worked with adults and teens who have come to seek treatment for various types of developmental traumas such as childhood physical and sexual abuse, neglect, as well as single incident trauma. I welcome anyone who is looking to create a safe working alliance through which to explore issues with boundaries and self care, whereby I can assist you in the cultivation of a compassionate inner awareness.

I believe that coming to therapy is about making a home in ourselves: a home where we feel at ease, where all the different parts of us are okay and we don't feel that something is wrong with who we are. When life gets hard we can feel isolated and cutoff - from the people around us, and also from ourselves. When we most need to feel compassion towards ourselves it can be hardest to find. My work is to help you find that compassion for yourself and to support you in strengthening your capacity to meet whatever life brings with courage and confidence.

I believe therapy is a collaborative and creative endeavor, and provide a safe, supportive environment for you to explore your identity, relationships, history, and desired changes. I am trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you create lasting changes, and am also influenced by Mindfulness, Narrative, Relational, and Systemic approaches to therapy. I am certified in the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and trained in Trauma-Focused CBT. I am also supportive and affirmative of clients of all sexual orientations and gender identifications, and can assist with issues such as coming out, homophobia, and LGBT relationship or parenting issues.

BAPTA is the only practice in the Bay Area dedicated exclusively to providing psychological and neuropsychological assessment. We offer a free initial consultation. BAPTA's psychologists work with a wide variety of clients, including children, adults and elders. Through the administration of state of the art psychological and neuropsychological tests we are able to evaluate for learning disabilities, information processing disorders, developmental disorders (such as Autism and Aspergers) and other types of cognitive dysfunction. Because psychodiagnostic testing is able to provide accurate diagnostics, it can assist treatment providers by offering recommendations for intervention that have a high likelihood of success.

Feeling overwhelmed? Is anxiety, grief, or stress taking over? I'm here to help. I offer therapy for adults, kids, and families that's strengths-based, collaborative, and solution-focused. We'll create positive momentum from our first meeting. Building on the strengths you or your child already have, I’ll offer tools and strategies to use when challenging situations arise. You'll gain a new perspective, a sense of hope, and practical strategies to use during the week.

My approach balances compassion with being direct. My clients experience care, acceptance and belonging, while also feeling challenged the right amount to grow, change and decrease suffering. I offer empathy while actively engaging my clients by setting weekly treatment goals, building coping tools/resources, and providing skills/knowledge to build self-awareness and integration. We are deeply influenced by our cultural identity and heritage. I am committed to the values of respecting and celebrating diversity, and supporting social/political policies of equal rights and opportunities.

I have worked with adults and youth for 25 years to help calm anxiety and lift depressed feelings and to find a way out of being limited by difficult emotions. My specialties include helping clients through life changes, issues related to work, school and personal relationships, anxiety and depression. Painful experiences or feelings from the past can cause us to feel disconnected from the relationships and opportunities in the world around us. I can work with you to help shift the unhelpful patterns of thinking and feeling to allow that valuable mental and emotional energy to be redirected towards positive change.

I work particularly well with both men and women with emotional and life issues, childhood trauma, and gay and straight couples with communication and other difficulties. I help individuals with serious mental illness make positive changes in their lives,and work with their families. I work with addictions and the intersection with emotional issues, particularly using 12-step programs.

I am a licensed psychotherapist working with individuals, families, couples, adolescents, children, and groups using EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and humanistic modalities.I embrace cultural diversity and am experienced with treating a broad spectrum of clinical issues such as trauma/PTSD, anxiety, depression,addictions,grief and loss, marital, relationship,life issues, and stress management among others.I work with all ages, starting from age 3 on up.

My aim is to accompany you in discovering your unique pathway to change or healing. We will identify the thoughts, beliefs, emotions and behavior patterns you wish to change, and those particular aspects of yourself that keep you feeling stuck or distressed. Working experientially, we will pay close attention to your moment to moment emotional, physical, and relational experience. Together we will not only address your problems but also deepen your awareness and experience of your strengths and capacities, both to help you face your life challenges and to feel more whole and fulfilled.

The Clinic Without Walls (TCWOW) offers FREE SERVICES to Bay Area residents. Our clinic provides a wide range of psychological services including individual, couple, family, and group therapy. We work with children, adults, and families. The clinic aims to increase clients' capacity to identify mental health needs and to access services through which they will be respected and effectively treated.The clinic is oriented to serving the needs of diverse populations and particularly those people historically discriminated against on the basis of race, sexual orientation, economic status, and other socio-cultural factors.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in psychological testing with children and adolescents. I have been practicing in this area for over a decade and have trained with experts in child assessment. My evaluations assess the presence of attention challenges, learning struggles, and emotional difficulties. I conduct thorough, comprehensive assessments informed by the Therapeutic/Collaborative Assessment model. In this model, parents and children are team members in the process and we work together to answer the referral questions. At the completion of the process, adolescents receive a feedback letter explaining the testing findings in accessible language and children receive an individualized picture book.

Our lives here on earth are a creative experience! At times, we need a place to rest and tend to our inner world. I view the therapeutic process as a brave space to access parts of ourselves that we want to grow and transform. My goal in working with you is to provide a supportive environment that will cultivate an increased awareness of your needs, self-compassion and understanding of who you are becoming.

I support clients to find, expand, and honor their voice in difficult circumstances. I work to assist clients who have been hurt and traumatized reclaim their feelings of safety and vitality. Whether you are ambivalent in a relationship, in pain due to trauma or hurt, struggling with a dilemma, unhappy about your own behavior, facing significant loss, or feeling stuck, together we can create a comfortable place for you to work.