Trauma and PTSD Therapists in Pacific Heights, San Francisco, CA

I practice Mindfulness and Somatic based Cognitive Therapy to help treat Anxiety, Depression, Trauma , Relationship, and life's woes. Together we will understand what causes your suffering and create change. Our traumas, difficult relationships, COVID, loss, and heartache, can all be confusing and debilitating and influence us to live patterns of suffering through our behaviors, beliefs, habitual thinking and life circumstances. By discovering and practicing new behaviors you will learn how to relate to your thoughts, emotions, and body in a manner that allows you to live the life that you want to be living.

At Firebird Healing we specialize in treating trauma . We know that experiencing trauma can impact every aspect of your life. Unresolved and unhealed trauma can profoundly impact your mental and emotional well-being, body, work, relationships, creativity, and success. Experiences of trauma profoundly shape how you see yourself and the world, and are often at the root of life struggles and difficulties. Trauma is often what underlies conditions such as depression, anxiety, addiction, conflicts, difficulties, or a lack of joy and satisfaction with living. The experts at Firebird Healing have found that addressing trauma and engaging the support, healing, and tools to triumph over trauma is one of the most profound, expansive, and life-altering choices you can make.

Thank for your interest in my therapy practice. I’m a trauma -focused therapist who specializes in helping people heal from childhood trauma , PTSD , and psycho-emotional wounds. I see healing as a deeply personal and meaningful journey to recover our authentic wholeness and unique gifts for the world. It often involves reconnecting to and integrating split-off parts of ourselves, clearing traumatic memories, and releasing blockages and old patterns that no longer serve us.

I enjoy working with motivated, well-educated, intelligent people. I help identify what troubles them and work toward understanding and addressing how these difficulties prevent them from experiencing satisfying relationships and making change in their lives. I am an experienced therapist who is direct, collaborative and can help you move toward a potential that's not being reached. I have a nursing / medical background that facilitates my comfort in working within the medical professions, emergency & paramedic services. I have years of experience with those who work in law enforcement and have been chronically traumatized.

Before your day starts, your heart and mind are already racing, your back and neck feel tense, and your stomach feels queasy. You have this feeling that you are stuck and not sure how to get out of this situation. You think to yourself, “What is happening to my life? Why do I feel this way?” Worry, fear, avoidance, racing heart and negative thoughts. In other words, Anxiety!!! It’s taking up all your energy and controlling your thoughts, emotions, and body. It feels like the anxiety is running your life.

Perhaps you are seeking a path of self-exploration or struggling with anxiety, depression or low self-esteem. You may need some additional time to talk and make some sense out the barriers to your personal goals. Or you may desire to learn practical skills to cope with your pain. Every person is unique, which means that our time together would be tailored to your particular needs based on cultural background, family dynamics and personal values. Either way, I will be present with you and assist you as you journey toward a meaningful life.

Life can present us with challenges we're not prepared for. Underlying issues can make it difficult to cope resulting in difficult moods -- anger or irritability, overwhelm, depression or anxiety, sadness, grief. Other reasons for therapy include relationship troubles (e.g., romantic, family, friends), unresolved trauma , demanding life transitions, stubborn self-defeating patterns, and low self-esteem undermining your life. Psychotherapy can help you move proactively through these challenges with better outcomes and more confidence.

I am an experienced psychologist providing brief and long-term psychotherapy and crisis intervention to individual adults and couples. I specialize in trauma , depression, anxiety, separation and divorce, loss and grief, life transitions, relational issues, among others. I am a Certified EMDR practitioner and an Approved Consultant. EMDR is a specialized therapy for symptom relief and the processing of stress reactions/ trauma , whether experienced from the distant past or more recently. I am a facilitator for Laurel Parnell's Attachment Focused-EMDR trainings. In addition, I am a Certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and a facilitator of SE trainings. I provide Consultation to Licensed Professionals.

What if there is nothing wrong with you? What if you never had to judge you again? My specialty is inviting clients to their greatness and success; clearing the energies that don't allow for achievement, creativity, and possibilities. I work with clients from all walks of life who are demanding freedom and change. My clients tend to be the seekers, the highly creative, and the dissatisfied dreamers of the world who want more out of living. If you have "been there and done that" and know that more is possible, I would be an ideal therapist for you. My new book "What If You're Not As F-ed Up As You Think You Are?" is all about this.

Adolescence can be a challenging phase of life. Whether it is struggling with self image, anxiety, depression, stress, aggression, defiance, or social or academic difficulties, I specialize in working with teens and their families to address these issues. My style is collaborative, warm, and interactive - yet straight forward. I focus on strengths to promote positive change. People come to grow in a variety of ways, and as a result, I draw from Cognitive Behavioral (including Trauma -Focused CBT), Psychodynamic, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Narrative theories to best meet my clients' needs. Please see my website for further details about my background.

My approach to therapy is interactive and relational. I believe that the relationship between the therapist and client is what is most healing and helpful in therapy. I strive to create a comfortable and supportive atmosphere where difficult issues can be addressed. When people feel supported and understood; they are often more able to face challenges. I also help clients become more aware of the obstacles which prevent them from leading more satisfying lives. Sometimes that may involve exploring past experiences and relationships or it may involve learning new coping skills.

My passion is to support others in discovering their strengths, values, and how to make change in their relationships, behaviors, and lives. We will observe all the factors that may be contributing to the ways you're feeling stuck as well as helping you work through patterns that aren’t serving you, or relationships that need boundaries. I use evidence-based strategies such as CBT to look at unhelpful thought patterns and guide you using mind/body approaches. I enjoy working with children struggling with ADHD, pre-teens and teens dealing with academic and confidence issues, parents, and young adults going through life transitions.

It may be hard to believe, but our most troubling habits and patterns began as strategies that once helped us deal with challenging or even dangerous circumstances. The difficulties that feel burdensome to you now—rumination, self-defeating behaviors, problematic relationship dynamics, stubborn emotional cycles—actually helped you survive in the past. And because they helped you survive, it takes more than just understanding and willpower to unravel them—it takes deeper work that engages both the body and mind. I weave together multiple therapeutic modalities into an approach tailored to your needs, goals, and whole self.

Hi! Thanks for considering me as your therapist. Whether you’re struggling with a past trauma or current anxiety, depression, or a major life transition, I’ve been helping people learn to live the best life possible for well over a decade. My interest in mental health began as a young adult after going through countless hours of unsuccessful therapy sessions and deciding there has to be a better way! Unfortunately, people often pick a therapist "out of a hat.” But successful counseling and psychotherapy is largely determined not only by a particular therapist’s expertise, but by the rapport and trust you develop with your therapist.

Compassionate. Sensitive. Intuitive. Bilingual-Español. My work focuses on transforming emotional pain to experience life more freely and fully. In a non-judgmental way, I work with clients to identify the core conflicts that keep appearing in new contexts. I understand symptoms as a privileged doorway to resolve these underlying conflicts. I also focus on how hidden links in the family tree influence us, and how transgenerational issues don't allow us to live "our own" lives. Secrets and unresolved family issues force themselves into our personal stories until they are resolved. We become as sick as our secrets.

As a Black, queer femme with mixed ancestry, I carry with me both a personal and professional understanding of the systems of oppression and domination that entangle with identity and wreak havoc in our lives. I have specific interest and experience working with those struggling with racial identity, sexual identity and gender identity; those healing from and finding their independence from/within dysfunctional family dynamics; folks who have been affected by intimate partner violence and dating violence; and those seeking to uncover patterns of intergenerational trauma within themselves and their family systems.

I am committed to you and to transformation in your life. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who provides specialized treatment in the areas of anxiety, trauma , cancer care, depression and addiction. I have been providing therapy and counseling services to individuals, groups and families since 1999.

In my San Francisco based private practice I focus on an array of issues including depression, anxiety, postpartum depression, parenting support, trauma , work stress, relationship issues, substance abuse, transgender and gender non-binary support, and counseling for issues related to fertility. Too often I work with individuals who have waited until the point of crisis to reach out for help, and relief can start much earlier! With empathy, sensitivity, and humor, my goal is to create a space in which to build the therapeutic relationship while cultivating a happier and healthier sense of self and wellbeing.

I generally work with high functioning people at important junctures in life where the suffering is great. Asking for help is often a powerful step of surrendering the ego's attempts to resist change. Symptoms are often a sign that something is trying to wake up inside of you. When you turn your attention inward and get intimate with your inner life you can start to find the energy to heal, to grow and to change. I specialize in somatic table work for treating developmental trauma . This work focuses on repairing developmental wounds, strengthening somatic resilience and increasing capacity for regulation in the nervous system.