Attachment-based Therapists in San Rafael, CA

Hi, I'm Kari. I take a client-centered approach to therapy, with an emphasis on helping individuals build awareness and cultivate more self-compassion. I often get feedback that clients experience me as warm, engaged, non-judgmental, and down-to-earth. My specialties include anxiety, depression, eating and body struggles, self-esteem challenges, transition, identity exploration, relationship struggles, trauma, life direction challenges, existential crisis, relationship with sexuality, and attachment issues.

Something is no longer working. You sense you have the capacity to experience greater ease and joy in your life. Through the therapeutic relationship, I provide a safe and nurturing environment, where we can address emotional blocks and patterns of behavior that are no longer serving. Through body awareness, mindfulness, and deep listening I will support your unfolding, bringing strength and clarity to your relationships and decision making. Whether you are struggling with a phase of life change, anxiety, depression, or unresolved trauma, I offer a warm and non judgmental space for the process of healing to occur.

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.

Therapy is a collaborative relationship, as individual as the people in the room. Often the work involves slowing down and creating a secure space for being open, curious and able to revisit and make sense of thoughts, memories and feelings that give rise to present difficulties. I'm especially attentive to your higher powers of perception and positive self determination. Together we resolve present-day problems with roots in the past, changing patterns that produce familiar and unwanted results so you are freer to choose the life you want.

There are many reasons that people seek out the support of a psychotherapist. Perhaps you feel overwhelmed, alone, anxious, or disconnected from life, those around you, and yourself. You may be struggling with a particular issue, or find yourself in a chapter of life that has you longing for more. You may be at a point where life feels ok, and yet, there’s a sense that more connection, growth, expression and fulfillment may be possible for you. Whatever it is that has brought you here, welcome. You've taken the first step along the path of healing and moving toward the life that is calling you. Every part of you is welcome here.

Welcome to my in private practice (virtual and in person). Do you feel distressed and need more support? Many seek therapy to end or alleviate often life long or long term painful symptoms or patterns. They may be too complex to address on your own but be very treatable. I provide a safe, nonjudgmental, supportive place. I work collaboratively to help develop awareness and skills and through therapeutic modalities. This is to improve or eliminate distressing symptoms or problems and assist you in reaching your full potential. Education: UC Berkeley-BA in Psychology and a Doctorate from California School of Professional Psychology.

My clients are leaders, emerging professionals, clinical providers, young adults, and pain patients. I serve on the Council of Therapists for my prescribing partners at Journey Clinical and offer psychiatric evaluation, psychotherapy, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), and integration. The work is solution-focused and experiential, with a "whole person" perspective. After 25 years in the field, a pragmatic blend of approaches have become core to my practice. These include Internal Family Systems, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, CBT, ACT, Habits of Mind, and attachment-based and somatic modes.

The choice to begin the therapeutic process is a powerful step in the direction of growth, healing, and a deeper source of empathy for oneself. I view therapy as a foundation of support with moving through whatever hardships may come your way, whether that means navigating grief, trauma, or the struggles of daily life.

I believe we all have the ability to change and grow. I work with Individuals and Couples who want to improve their lives. Trauma can keep us stuck in dysregulated emotional states. Isolation can make change difficult. Life transitions can be hard to navigate. Communication with loved ones can be challenging during conflicts. Abandonment and other relationship injuries are best healed in a relationship with a safe and secure person. As you contemplate creating change, you may find yourself in need of help and support. If you find yourself stuck and in emotional pain, collaboration with a therapist can begin your journey to healing.

Asking for help can be difficult, especially if you feel no one understands your pain, situation, or life struggles. Sharing one's thoughts and feelings and being understood in an empathetic safe environment can be healing. My engaging, warm and compassionate style will help you develop your strengths and gain insight into your relationships and patterns that might hinder you from reaching your full potential in all aspects in life.

It is often during difficult times that people come to psychotherapy. These times may feel overwhelming. Either way, we come because we hope that feelings, motivations, relationships or circumstances can be different. My approach to therapy comes out of my training in Somatic Psychology, which is based on the premise that the mind and body are interconnected. Somatic Psychotherapy is experientially-focused, with the underlying assumption that you don’t need fixing, that you are already enough as you are.

I specialize in working with adolescent males who are experiencing externalizing behaviors (e.g. oppositional defiance, aggression, truancy, delinquency, etc.). In addition, I have extensive experience working with families struggling with attachment, attunement, and communication issues. I also work with couples dealing with relational problems and life transitions.

I work with my clients to deeply discover and access new resources and potentials of "self at best" both for growth and as ways beyond obstacles. I believe the quality of the relationship between the therapist and client is essential for change. I have over 17 years of spiritual practice which I incorporate using mindfulness, inquiry and dream work.

I believe that life’s challenges, whether external or internal, are opportunities for self-discovery and for becoming more aligned with your inner wisdom. My role as a therapist is to create an environment in which you can express yourself, feel deeply heard and connect to your authentic self. I believe that when we can meet ourselves with love and respect, we can heal from many issues. My focus is on supporting you to gain a deeper understanding of who you are, including your resources and strengths, your unique perspective, and your unconscious patterns so you can create the change and healing that you desire.

I work with children, teens, and adults. I help clients become resilient, aware of what truly matters to them, live in the present moment, and effective in managing stress and difficult emotions. Sometimes past disappointments, fear and shame, loss, or trauma keep us stuck. Often my clients do not know how to cope with difficult situations and intense emotions, which causes them to be emotionally vulnerable and reactive. Things can easily get out of control when you lack effective coping or experience instability in life. I would like to help you develop new ways of thinking, relating to others and oneself, and managing stress.

My work is warm, relational, and balanced. I enjoy cultivating genuine relationships with clients and value each individual's unique needs. I work with children, teens, and adults going through various challenges, including anxiety, trauma, identity, transitions, grief, and relationship struggles.

I invite you to collaborate with me in cultivating inner peace and greater life satisfaction. While stress and anxiety are all too common nowadays, my years of practicing a wide variety of therapeutic approaches allow me to offer you many possibilities for effective change. As a seasoned therapist, I'm skilled at creating a supportive environment for you to explore and transform your responses to life's challenges. I carefully tailor my approach to meet your individual needs, combining strategies that will best address your particular concerns.

To others, it seems like you have it all. But underneath lives a different story. Despite your outward success, you feel haunted sometimes by feelings of failure, conflict, self-doubt. At certain moments, a gnawing sense overcomes you, telling you: Something is not right. You've made changes but somehow still end up in the same unsatisfying patterns, repeating the same unhelpful behaviors -- feeling more and more alone. You want to understand your patterns and your past so you can create a different future. You want to learn to feel differently about yourself and how you relate with others. You want to find a different way.

If you are ready for a change in your life, I'm ready to help you. Whether this means focusing on work, marital, or parenting issues, depression, grief, or anxiety we can work together to navigate the difficult transitions in your life. I will provide a safe environment and a compassionate, non-judgmental point of view so that we can examine the relationships and situations in your life that keep you stuck or in pain. Together we will work toward changes that make you feel happier and more genuinely yourself.