Therapists in San Francisco, CA

Based in the heart of Los Angeles, my mission is to provide affirmative and specialized therapy for LGBTQIA+ individuals and relationships, sex workers, non-monogamous relationships, and people exploring kink/BDSM dynamics. I believe in the transformative power of therapy to promote self-advocacy, autonomy, and meaningful connections.

Sexual issues can - and do - happen to anyone at any age. Perhaps there is an aspect of your sexuality that is confusing to you. Perhaps you struggle to experience the pleasure of sexuality and eroticism. Perhaps you or your partner have a sexual dysfunction like painful intercourse or erectile dysfunction. Perhaps you are in a low sex/no sex relationship. Or perhaps you're reeling from learning of your partner's betrayal. In our shame-based culture, these are difficult issues to talk about. I am here to help. After all, everyone has the right to a healthy and satisfying sex life.

Seeking to deepen your intimacy in relationships with romantic and/or non-romantic partners? Desiring a fuller sexual expression & pleasure in your experience? Have you desired to enliven your sex life? Or, perhaps you are desiring restorative healing, justice, & repair from childhood sexual abuse / have had non-consensual, sexual experiences; either being the victim or the transgressor and require integral support. I can help you. I facilitate individuals and couples heal and recover from personal, collective, and intergenerational trauma to come back into authentic, embodied connection through intimacy from the inside out.

My private practice not only serves direct clients including couples, it also focuses on supervision for therapists, coaches, healthcare organizations, agencies, and companies. I am a certified sex therapist and a master of education in human sexuality. As a licensed clinical social worker, social justice, cultural humility, and empathy are woven through my psyche. I also teach for a global healing school, the 'Harvard' of schools in that realm. I help folks gain true alignment with core qualities, needs, and values that guide the transformative process toward happiness and joy.

Hi! I'm Dr. Mari Larangeira. I support individuals and couples move from places of painful disconnect to rich, loving connection and a thriving sex life (whatever that looks like for you!). I work with a lot of kink, poly and ENM folks. Whether you have experienced a relationship trauma or betrayal, or your sexual and intimate life is struggling, or your relationship is feeling stuck in some way, I am here to help you and your partner(s) take steps towards each other and restore your relationship. I use EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) and sex therapy techniques to support you at your own pace.

Are you feeling more overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious and/or isolated than usual? Are you feeling less motivated? Are you feeling less connected? Are your typical coping strategies not working for you? I’m here to offer a safe space and to support you during this time. Together, we shall explore the wisdom of the mind, body & spirit connection to find new ways to cope, heal and flourish. I am passionate about your mental well being.

I specialize in working with adolescents (13-17) and emerging adults (18-29) who are struggling with relationship/peer, family, behavioral, emotional, self-esteem, academic, and career challenges. My clients and their families look for support to address different life changes and stressors, such as starting college, loss/grief, dating/relationships, navigating independence, and intergenerational family conflict. They are also looking for strategies to effectively manage symptoms related to mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, adjustment disorders, and trauma.

My approach is behavioral and goal oriented. I focus on identifying new coping strategies and changing behavioral patterns that damage relationships. I assist clients in identifying deeply held values and taking behavioral steps towards getting closer to these values. I utilize Cognitive Behavioral techniques to help clients who struggle with relationship problems, depression, anxiety, OCD, and mood disorders. I help clients identify particular core beliefs that act as barriers to values-based behavior and explore alternative coping behaviors to utilize when one's schemas are triggered in relationships. Particular methods I incorporate in treatment include mindfulness, cognitive defusion, exposure, and Nonviolent communication.

I work with adults (individual and couple's therapy), children, and adolescents. Special interests include: life transitions, relationship problems, loss and grief (including pregnancy loss), stress and anxiety, depression, parenting concerns, children/ adolescents and identity.

I am here to help you work through the challenges you've been trying to resolve alone. I specialize in working with individuals who are "high-achievers/perfectionists" yet struggle with satisfying, stable intimacy in their relationships. I also work with those who feel "different" from their peers in a variety of ways. I help my clients transform their struggles into a pathway to a powerful and deep alliance with themselves and with the important people in their lives. Inner intimacy can become the basis and blueprint for all other forms of connection in your life.

You don't have to be in crisis for therapy, it's good just to have someone to talk with. I believe Psychotherapy can be a “point in the right direction” to bring change, healing, and a new sense of hope into your life. This is a place you can talk about anything, where you can explore fears, frustrations, hopes and all the parts of yourself. I am a deep and attentive listener, as well as interactive. One of my goals is to give you my "toolbox" so you can manage life outside the office. My niche is couples therapy, relationship issues, family systems, communication and individuals who want to reach their potential.

**Accepting New Clients** Feel cared for and heard, experience a safe and authentic connection, find clarity, heal from a past or more recent traumatic event. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Provisional Art Therapist and Mindfulness-based Practitioner, I offer a person-centered, strength-based holistic approach to healing. In addition to traditional talk therapy, I work with the creative mind, this work includes art and expressive mediums to understand how our earliest experiences in life create the implicit, behavioral patterns that we can potentially carry with us for a lifetime.

If you are reading this, you have gotten my name from a person or a search. You want to know why to call me. Some reasons why include: I am direct, perceptive, and can tell you quickly whether and how I plan to help you. I have special experience with GLBTQ clients, parents, people with mood disorders, trauma, therapist clients, and psychoanalysis. I have been a teacher and supervisor as well as a therapist for thirty years, which helps me have language and a plan for what we do. Call me if you think we might be a match.

Needing support? Feeling anxious? Having conflict with a loved one? Wanting to worry less and trust yourself more? Come in, let's talk and explore together what you need to feel better and more alive. I help my clients reduce anxiety, lift depression, strengthen couple communication, build self-esteem, parent with loving kindness, and create balance and meaning in their life. I can help you feel more authentic, more in integrity with who you are and more connected. I will help you build awareness, heal wounding, and create lasting change. I will support you every step of the way.

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.

I work with individuals and couples in a variety of different areas, some of them include loss, anxiety, depression, and trauma. People often come in to work on a specific issue while others come in because something feels wrong, or because they want to gain a deeper understanding of themselves. My work with couples involves helping them work through areas in their relationship where they are struggling or feeling at a loss and we work together to help them gain new and lasting relational skills, often with a focus on communication.

There are important reasons why you are struggling, and they deserve attention and understanding. I work with people who find themselves overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life and demoralized by the struggle just to keep up. People who have ever felt defective, or like there is something wrong with the way that they are. These feelings may be due to, or manifest as: anxiety, depression, relationship problems, substance-use issues, or ADHD-related issues like difficulty with time management, organization, and motivation.

We all at some point in our life face crises or transitions that can become an opportunity for growth. Do you want to know more about yourself? Do you finally want to make a change? I help clients break through patterns of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, body image issues, and more. I offer a rich menu of therapeutic techniques that make a tangible difference. Instead of experiencing an exaggerated reactivity to life's inevitable difficulties, a balanced sense of calm and peace will prevail. With couples, I teach nuanced communication skills towards the goal of a deep, fun-loving, and interdependent relationship.

If you are here, you may have experienced something painful, scary, frustrating, confusing or sad. Maybe you feel a general sense of dissatisfaction, or you are seeking to change your behavior or the quality of your relationships. Regardless of why you are here, I am glad you’re seeking a partner to help you process your emotions, and make sense of your experiences. In therapy, I will help you build awareness of your thoughts and feelings so that you can understand your needs and express yourself authentically. You deserve to have meaningful and fulfilling relationships and live a life aligned with your true nature.