Therapists in Oakland, CA

We all need support at some point in our lives, yet asking for help can be one of the hardest things to do. Everyone deserves to live their best life, use their voice and be free in their body. As humans our sense of self is shaped by old stories, the environment we grew up and live in, relationships, past traumas, impacted socio-political-economic and cultural influences, that may have clouded our vision of ourselves or who we want to be. My service as a therapist is to help you speak your truth. Find your way back to yourself. Reinvent, rediscover, tell and rewrite your story. Change is a moment by moment process.

In every phase of life, we are presented with new challenges: stress, issues at work, challenging relationships, feeling stuck, depression, difficulties with your kids, difficulties with your parents, pain, loss, anxiety, fear. It is not always easy to manage these challenges when they come our way, and sometimes we just need some support in processing it all, and figuring out what to do next. Everyone needs support, therapy is for everyone. In my practice, I want to get to know you, understand your challenges, understand your needs, and understand your goals. Together we can work toward overcoming the challenges you are facing.

It is very common that we find ourselves feeling alone or challenged in our most intimate relationships, even when there's love. Working collaboratively we will focus on understanding what's happening within you, strengthening connection in relationships, improving communication, and facilitating an experience of a felt sense that you are important, heard, seen and loved. My clinical style is warm, empathic, attuned, collaborative and client-centered. I work with individuals, couples & families of all ages & stages of life coping with a range of issues.

Often when an individual or couple is seeking out a therapist they're in the midst of a significant transition or challenge that can feel overwhelming. Paradoxically, I believe this is often the time in which the greatest change is possible. By exploring issues through a multi-layered approach, we will identify the deeper truths and lessons these challenges are presenting. By lending tools and feedback, I assist my clients in having a different relationship with their challenges; thus moving away from constriction into conscious growth and empowerment.

Maybe you have a clear sense of the problems you’d like to solve. Maybe you’re struggling with certain feelings that don’t have a clear origin. My approach is you-centered, prizing a full, collaborative understanding of the many ways these problems or feelings might relate to your unique history.

I strive to create a safe therapeutic relationship that supports and encourages my patients to overcome the obstacles in their lives that have held them back in order for them to resume healthy development. Every patient brings a unique life story to the work and I am committed to understanding and recognizing each individual's strivings and challenges. In addition to psychotherapy, I also provide psychological assessment services for children, adolescents and adults in my work, and believe the process of assessment brings much clarity to what are often confusing and misunderstood difficulties.

Although I work with a broad spectrum of clients and issues, I specialize in youth and family issues and offer home visits as scheduling allows. My clinical experience has been in school and office settings. I work with clients on issues such as child development, adolescence, parenting, and blended families (lifespan issues, broadly speaking). In addition to lifespan development, I am very comfortable working with anger, anxiety, depression, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.