Attachment-based Therapists in San Rafael, CA

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

Are you coming to terms with a challenging life transition, or feeling overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety, stress, sadness or depression finding yourself in crisis, or simply wanting a deeper connection with yourself? If so I invite you to contact me. I am skilled at creating a supportive and empathic environment that will allow you to explore your relationship to life's challenges and to align with your inner resources. My approach draws on strategies that are tailored to meet you where you are and to focus on your individual goals and needs.

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.

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.

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.

I am passionate about helping Individuals and Couples who have reached a time in their lives when they begin to consider making changes. Trauma can keep us from creating that change. 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, a therapist can help and support you on your journey to healing.

I am a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who came to practice later in life and believe my life's experience makes me a better therapist. I enjoy working with children and older adults in life transitions. I treat children who suffer from anxiety and depression and those that are victims of abuse, abandonment, and homelessness. I support Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Clients. I also work with adults facing a life transition. This may be caring for an older parent, loss of a loved one, or a life threatening illness. These situations trigger a mixed bag of emotions that can be overwhelming.

My work with individual adults at all stages of life recognizes the transformative power of even the most challenging life transitions. These opportunities may take many forms: fears about mortality and aging, grief and loss, questions about career and calling, spiritual and existential crises, shifts in sexual identity and orientation, and relationship challenges. I also work with couples (including LGBTQ) and adult family members who want to improve their relationships. Y sí, hablo español. Si desea obtener más información, llámeme, por favor, y podemos platicar de sus necesidades. Trabajo solamente con adultos y no acepto aseguranza.

Are you feeling lonely, sad, angry, or unhappy in your relationships? Do you worry about your or someone else's alcohol or drug use? Substance Use Disorder often impacts individuals and families in painful + predictable ways that trap people in destructive cycles of interaction that lead to trauma and persistent feelings of anxiety, loneliness, anger, helplessness, and despair. You are not alone if your efforts to manage and move beyond the chaos and frustration of addiction have fallen short of your expectations. Don't lose hope! People do get better, and relationships can be repaired!

My work is grounded in the belief that we all have innate resources for happiness and ease that become concealed or undeveloped. Feeling overwhelmed or experiencing trauma we often develop coping skills that may no longer be serving us. It is my role to help you realign with your strengths and wisdom while uncovering what may be blocking these resources. I provide a safe space for exploring the changes you want to make in your life. I will help you address areas in your life where you feel stuck while offering you the tools and guidance to do that safely.

How you feel today is important to me. Many people coming to therapy believe that something is missing. It might be love, understanding, support, meaning, a sense of purpose, lack of control, a job, or a partner. Therapy can help. I would be honored to guide you through a self-empowering journey that could help you enable the changes you would like to achieve in your personal life or within your family. I work directly with individuals, couples, children, and families. My style is gentle, compassionate and authentic, and I provide unconditional acceptance, optimism, patience, and trust.

Hello and welcome to my page. I am a warm, grounded, and accepting therapist who seeks to create a safe space for you to share your struggles and concerns. I pair my psychological knowledge with my intuitive instincts to tailor my approach to meet your own unique needs. To assist you in creating lasting change, I primarily use a psychodynamic approach to therapy. I also utilize various other treatment approaches to help you discover what holds you back and how to move forward in your life.

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.

Have you had a difficult or traumatic life experience that you can't recover from on your own? Did you grow up in a chaotic home where it felt hard to be seen or to get your needs met? You may have felt a persistent anxiety and lack of safety due to issues beyond your control. If you struggle in your current relationships and seem to experience too many painful feelings like fear, anger, sadness, shame, or guilt you might have unresolved trauma, even if it doesn't seem to match your idea of what trauma is. I can help you heal from the past and let go of your negative feelings/beliefs so that you can live more fully in the present.

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.

Navigating life can be difficult. Perhaps you find yourself stuck in problematic relational patterns, struggling to find a different way. Maybe you criticize and put limitations on yourself. Perhaps you have endless empathy for everyone but yourself. Maybe you’ve turned to alcohol or substances to avoid the pain. Maybe you don’t feel much of anything at all. Perhaps you are simply in a rut and you don’t know how to get yourself out of it. The good news is, by simply looking for help you are on your way to regaining confidence, agency, and a fuller, more authentic sense of self. A self that CAN navigate the difficulties of life.

Your potential is much greater than you even think. But psychological burdens -- such as depression, loneliness, guilt, and anxiety -- rob you of the freedom to feel, act, and choose. Self-protective strategies left over from childhood, ingrained but faulty ideas, and an absence of self-acceptance make life very, very difficult. How we work together will depend on what you want and what you need. Cognitive-behavioral techniques can be very valuable. But for many people, the path includes uncovering buried emotions, giving the "true self" a chance to emerge. Our closeness gives you courage.

I have many years of experience and training and enjoy working with adults, couples and teens. I find that most clients come to me when their old ways of coping are no longer working (or they are unhealthy) and the stress is too much! Also, when they can't avoid the strong feelings bubbling to the surface. Why do it alone. I hold the hope for my clients when they aren't able.

I seek to provide a thoughtful and reflective setting where clients develop greater understanding of their problems and limitations through honest exploration of themselves, and to bolster strengths/foster growth. I provide a friendly and open atmosphere to invite sharing of whatever thought or feeling that comes up so that they can be explored, analyzed and ultimately changed if you want. I work in a collaborative way and do not necessarily see my role as an advice giver, but as a thoughtful companion in helping you find your own solutions and understanding. I use a flexible blend of clinical techniques and theories.