Therapists in San Rafael, CA

Are you concerned or confused by your child's behavior? Has your child's teacher suggested your child work with a therapist? Are you worried that your child is under stress? Do you feel like you are not a good parent for your child? It is very difficult to parent a child who is struggling with challenging feelings and behaviors. I provide therapeutic support to kids who struggle with ADHD, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, adoption issues, learning disabilities, behavioral challenges, academic or social issues, or major life changes. I offer support for parents.

I love to help individuals, couples and parents thrive in their life/ lives together. I use an attachment based model that helps my clients experience their strengths individually and as a couple. Together, from this place grounded in your resilience, we will work with your challenges. Trauma, attachment woundings, communication issues, addiction, as well as avoidance of feelings and intimacy can block us from living the full, healthy lives we long for. I have already helped many clients find another way. I believe you can too and we can find it together.

Inevitably there are times when you will struggle with difficult emotions, be stretched thin by the responsibilities of life, or be unsure about how to meet the challenges of being in relationship. During these times, therapy can help you slow down, process your feelings, develop a more compassionate relationship to yourself, and teach you the tools to connect with your resilience and strength. If you are a parent, you might be in a place where you're overwhelmed by your child's emotions or difficulties at school or with peers. Therapy can help your child find balance and a healthier way of relating.

I work with people struggling with anxiety and relationships. You may not know what is getting in the way of feeling good in your life, but you know it's supposed to be better. You may be going through a rough patch and just need support or you may have a history that hurts, either way therapy can help.

Compassion for your situation goes a long way. Do you know what compassion really means? Can you employ it with yourself and others at the most difficult times? It is not letting yourself or others off the hook. And I don't know anyone who changes with self criticism, self judgement and ongoing self evaluation.

Do you long for safe, intimate connections? Let me be your coach and guide. Your healing journey can begin today. I help women and couples clear hurts from the past that interfere with building safe, loving relationships. Through relationship counseling, EMDR, and IFS/Parts work therapy, I help both women and couples to heal from early relational trauma and painful intimacy experiences, and teach them how to develop loving and satisfying relationships today.

In the first session I'll ask you three questions: Why therapy?; Why now?: What will success look like in our work together? The question 'why therapy?' is about understanding your expectations of the process and what your previous experience in therapy has been, if any. I'll want to know what worked for you and what didn't. When I ask 'why now?', I'm curious about what happened to get you from thinking about therapy to actually reaching out. This will give us some clues about what motivates you or what you want to change.

Do you look at other people and think they have it all together? Or think that you will start tending to your needs once you are finished with school, in a new relationship, fit into your old clothes, or are not so overwhelmed with life? You get so caught up with the daily pressure of trying to do it all that your emotional, mental, and physical health suffers. Trying to live up to others’ expectations takes a heavy toll on your overall well-being. So you give in to thoughts and behaviors which you know aren’t healthy, causing you to spin into a shame cycle of not feeling like enough.

I offer psychotherapy for adults, kids, teens, couples and families. I support each client to explore what their needs and feelings are in a safe and supportive relationship. I have specialized training in Somatic Experiencing & Mindfulness tools to help relieve symptoms of trauma and anxiety.

Is it hard for you to really value and love yourself, creating difficulties in your relationships or career? Are you overwhelmed and at the mercy of your thoughts and feelings? I will partner with you to address issues such as these and what is most important to you, with respect, compassion and insight. You can develop a greater ability to be in the present moment - where life happens. You can improve your relationships, your confidence to face challenges and your ability to make decisions. My greatest intention is to empower you to love and live your truest self!

What I bring to my work in over 25 years of working with people is clarity, competence, personal warmth and an ability to draw from a wide range of effective approaches. I have had particular success with couples, teenage girls and individuals in recovery. My approach is both personable and effective.

Deep down you’ve known for a while that you have something potent to offer this world and your relationships. But bringing that knowing into daily life feels out of reach. Life can deal brutal cards, and habits can be hard to shake. You are capable, inteligent, and supportive to others. You have grown and deepened through many of life’s challenges. But this threshold life has brought you is not something you can walk (or crawl) through alone. You are aware that life is impermanent, what you do with it matters, and there’s no time to waste not getting the care you need to be who you came here to be.

The most difficult step in therapy is getting to the first session. If you are ready to say goodbye to loneliness, depression or bad habits such as overeating, dieting, drinking or using drugs, please call me. I will help you reduce anxiety, anger, depression and self-destructive behaviors. If you are stuck or contemplating a career, marriage or relationship change, call me. I provide a safe, neutral environment to explore your issues. Weekend hours available. I accept credit, ATM, and FSA cards and all insurance PPO plans.

Therapy is not something I "do" to you; it is a collaboration and conversation we have together. I look forward to walking beside you as you access a place within that feels more like home. There is no one way to move toward healing. I use an emotionally-focused (EFT), humanistic and somatic understanding while keeping the very human need for attachment and relationship at the heart of our work together. Many clients feel and notice a shift toward increased authenticity, flow, ease and joy in their lives after working together. (Now accepting COUPLES).

I enjoy working with individuals and couples who are motivated to understand and change some of the challenging patterns they have learned. My style, combined with excellent education, clinical training and life experience, gives me the ability to successfully help people find their way to happier lives and to unravel the mystery of how they ended up with grief, depression, anxiety or marital stress. I can help guide parents through the challenge of the teen years or with conflict that comes with being part of an extended family. I specialize in issues around divorce, coparenting and restructuring life after a divorce.

Any scary event or even a medical diagnosis can wreak havoc & any daily routine is quickly found unmanageable. If the physical body fails you, it affects your mood. If emotions are out of wack, it affects your health. Either way, you deserve to feel in control and you can reclaim control. The goal is to highlight your strengths and minimize or eliminate any obstacles to healthy wellness. A direct benefit of engaging in effective help elevates your protective factors against emotional decay now a known correlate with disease. Together we can restore a sense of control, balance, and develop your future goals. You deserve to be happy.