Teletherapy for Oakland, CA

Have you recently experienced a traumatic loss and are feeling lost and overwhelmed with grief? Are you in the midst of a major life transition with your career or relationship? Perhaps you are an artist experiencing a creative block? Art Therapy may be the answer for your or your teen. As an Art Therapist, I specialize in guiding clients through grief and loss, life transitions, trauma, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and blocks in creativity and self exploration. I help my clients to harness the power of creativity to deepen emotional exploration and uncover feelings that may be challenging to otherwise articulate with words.

My approach to counseling begins with careful listening to understand your unique situation and personal goals. I will listen without judging you or rushing to a quick fix that might not be applicable for your specific situation. Many of my clients enter counseling feeling alone or overwhelmed by feelings of sadness, anxiety, anger, or stress. They may feel stuck in painful relationships that aren't working, or stuck with intense feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, dread, or inner pain. My treatment approach is gentle, educational, and experiential.

I consider myself to be a neurodivergent therapist, who is authentic and direct. My style is anchored in cognitive science, attachment theory, mindfulness, social justice, parts work, and somatic psychology. I value science equally with the domain of intuition and art, and I consider myself an especially huge nerd with evolutionary psychology. I'm queer and LGBTQIA+ aligned, and I'm fluent in polyamory and kink relationship dynamics.

Is your child struggling with anxiety, depression or a big life change or a recent trauma? Are you an adult navigating grief or a transitional phase in your life and overwhelmed with stress, worry, or fear? As an Art Therapist, using a trauma-informed approach, we will work collaboratively and creatively to meet your goals. I will help you access coping skills, establishing routines, and hold space for emotional expression. I specialize in working with individuals from marginalized communities, ages 4 through adulthood, with anxiety, depression, trauma, and life transitions.

Therapy can be an opportunity to explore life experiences, reconnect with yourself and develop tools and strategies to help you better manage anxiety or worrying thoughts. I work collaboratively with you to uncover and make sense of confusing or conflicting desires, thoughts, and feelings and explore relationship patterns that are not working for you. I understand the need to find realistic solutions and move past critical self-judgments and unhelpful behaviors. I also support women and birthing people with worries during pregnancy, birthing process and postpartum and explore ways to maintain a sense of agency throughout.

Are you looking for a new creative way to deal with difficulties in life and get in touch with your best self? Do you feel like you’ve tried everything with your child, but they struggle to benefit from traditional talk therapy? As art therapists, we incorporate talk therapy with art making to help our clients unlock their creative potential, look at problems with fresh eyes, and develop new creative coping skills for managing with difficult emotions. If you or your child is feeling blocked by past trauma, stuck in destructive patterns, or overwhelmed by depression or anxiety, then I encourage you to reach out. You are not alone.

We often find ourselves and bodies, on the path towards health after overwhelming experiences, trauma, grief or loss. Re-igniting our inner-fire and natural emotional balance can understandably be a challenge. Trauma-informed somatic psychotherapy can help! I take my role as a therapist, one who supports the client On their journey, as a facilitator of a sacred collaboration. I conduct therapy with an intention to process and move trauma (anxiety, depression and grief accompanying it) in order to restore balance between the mind, body, and spirit and reignite the internal fire.

My clients are passionate, sensitive, often highly creative people searching for a place where their full self can be witnessed, celebrated, and supported. Sometimes this includes mourning for what was not possible or the intensity of previous experiences they were put through and what that has cost them. My clients tend to struggle with a variety of complex issues. They often come from families with a legacy of unprocessed intergenerational trauma, which can take many forms. Ultimately, clients who seek me are looking for a place to try out new ways of being in the world. Ways that will better support their deepest values.

In my career I have had the privilege of working with children, teens, adults, parents, couples and families, supporting them in their growth process. Therapy is sought out for a variety of reasons. For some of us, life circumstances have impacted us in such a way that effect how we interact with the world and those around us. Life is created by the situations we encounter, and the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our relationships. Therapy provides an intentional space to explore our relationships with others, ourselves, and the dance that takes place between the layers and intersections of these dynamics.

I am passionate about working with those who struggle with relationships and boundary setting, and clients who struggle with balancing differing sets of expectations due to cultural, physical, or mental factors. I also work with couples from differing backgrounds to deepen mutual understanding and couples struggling through a difficult phase in their relationship looking to increase communication and understanding. I work well with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, immigrant and first and second generation individuals and families, mixed race or multicultural individuals, and those who are struggling with chronic illness.

I believe that inside each of our struggles there is a choice and it's from this place that we can reconnect to and reclaim our inherent wisdom and power. My intention in our work together is to help shed light on the path to help guide you home to yourself

I am seeking clients who are open to discovering what makes them unique through a creative and imaginative process; Clients whose goals may range from deeper self knowledge, to decreasing experiences with anxiety and depression, to understanding how trauma plays itself out in their relationships, to being able to resource themselves, etc; Clients interested in exploring their strengths as well as their more scary parts. I believe that pain and suffering are normal emotions and healing happens in connection with others; others who can hold and stay with the difficulty and provide curiosity and support.

Whether sitting with individuals or partners, I am here to remind you of what you already know but might have forgotten: you are enough. Many clients find their way to me because they want to work through challenges related to their identity, acculturation, sexuality, gender expression, relationship formation, and early traumas. My identities as a queer, non-monogamous, sex- and kink-positive, immigrant woman tend to attract potential clients who share some of these positionalities.

I am a dedicated and passionate healer, Psychotherapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. I believe that we are all unique in our journeys and yet deeply connected in our collective human experience. I provide a safe, warm, compassionate space in which to share your unique story, deepen your relationship to self, others, and your community, identify and break down internal/external barriers and challenges, and have more meaningful and joyful experiences in your life.

My therapeutic style is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves to be seen and understood. Whatever the challenges, I believe in our abilities to become self-aware and connect deeper with ourselves, our patterns, and those around us. I aim to co-create a caring and supportive space for you, where you can feel accepted and affirmed. Together, we’ll work in ways that are in-depth and practical, discover the strengths that are already within you, and move towards greater health, wellness, pleasure, and joy.

Hello. What is keeping you from thriving and being the best version of yourself? For many, it might be trauma, ​people-pleasing, inner criticism, shame, addiction, substance use, lacking boundaries, worrying what others think about you, challenges in relationships, low self-esteem, worry of failure, stress, overwhelm, feeling powerless and alone. It can be hard to ask for help. But in doing so, you might experience relief. I offer individual, family, & couples therapy via video (for now). I recommend having consultations with multiple therapists to find the best fit. Contact me for a 20 minute consultation, free of charge.

When challenges and struggles in life arise, you do not have to walk alone. Whether you have experienced a recent life transition, loss, setback, have struggled with mental health or addiction challenges, or, are seeking support to heal from a recent or childhood trauma, I will be honored to guide you to gain control of your life and reclaim your personal power. I have committed nearly two decades holding a safe and empowered space for adults, children, and adolescents to discover their human potential, heal from trauma, and develop the tools to live a life of vitality and empowerment.

Everybody has a story to tell, and I want to hear yours. I work with adults & teens struggling with a range of issues (anxiety, depression, trauma, neuroatypical related challenges, disordered eating, body image issues, substance use, and burnout/perfectionism). Whether you are experiencing a challenge or you are interested in finding more balance in your life, I am here to support you. My clients often to come from a variety of marginalized communities: LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, Latinx/e, bi/multi-racial/cultural, Fat, neurodivergent, kinky, poly/ENM, people who use alcohol/drugs, performers/creatives, black sheep, brujx and witchy folk.

As Audre Lord said, "Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation." Hello, I'm Mekdes! I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working out of Fresno, CA. Deciding to seek counseling services is a huge step. Whether you are struggling with anxiety, depression, relationship conflict, or parenting challenges, participating in therapy can give you the boost that you need to start living your best life again! As a therapist, I consider it a privilege to be allowed to walk alongside you on your journey of healing.