Therapists in Berkeley, CA

With twenty plus years of experience, I have had the pleasure of working with many clients from various cultural contexts. As a Latina, I am very familiar with the psycho social contexts and cultural considerations needed for culturally competent therapy. Since my practice is very close to U.C. Berkeley, I have also enjoyed working with many graduate and undergraduate students as well as adolescents in both school and private practice settings.

Sometimes life is hard. Inevitably it may occasionally feel intolerable, tremendous, or overwhelming. At times, challenges may feel insurmountable, and appear to require courage that is assumed to exceed our current capacity. And, especially during significant change, may evoke questioning the fundamentals of identity, relationships, and/or the external world. Although challenges in life cannot be avoided or prematurely alleviated, they can be shared in the space and experienced with healing. Within this process, there is a depth of potential for the parts of the self that hold the strength and resilience yet to be discovered.

Since 1991, I've counseled both those who have been hurting and those who have had healthy lives and wanted more; the juvenile offender and the diplomat; migrants or multi-generational Americans. Each individual was uniquely capable of compassion and love, each had his/her own times of strife, and each was capable of flourishing with warm support and a willing ear. My role is to ensure that the work done in the therapy room endures beyond our time together and fosters resilient, warm, supportive relationships indefinitely. I welcome all wanting to heal...to overcome obstacles to a rich, happy, peaceful, and love-filled life.

I am bilingual in Spanish, and offer therapy for individual adults, couples, families, teens, and children 6 and older. My specialties include trauma, interpersonal violence (IPV), and loss, especially for human beings who have experienced displacement and/migration. I offer services for expecting and new mothers to aid in the transitions and attachment issues that arise. Also I am interested in bridging periods in human development. I embrace a culturally humble stance, and am LBGT welcoming.

I am a leading authority on healing shame. I co-created the Healing Shame – Lyon/Rubin method and am the Co-Director of the Center for Healing Shame, a continuing education provider that offers workshops to therapists and other helping professionals. In my private practice, I developed therapy techniques integrating somatic and expressive processes to work with the all-pervasive shame and trauma that underlie toxic family dynamics, depression and eating disorders. I integrate Emotionally Focused Therapy and AEDP with Drama Therapy, Hakomi, Focusing and Expressive Arts. I work with the imposter syndrome and voracious inner critics.

I work with adults, teens, and couples struggling with depression, anxiety, and the inability to effectively communicate. With individuals, I help reframe challenges and liberate talents, especially in men alienated from the economy and meaningful purpose. I taught for years in a high school, and thus am comfortable working with adolescents. My orientation is eclectic, however I draw mostly from psychodynamic and relational theory, as well as CBT techniques. I find these approaches complementary, even necessary to establish a holistic treatment plan.

I have a particular expertise in working with clients who have diverse cultural backgrounds (e.g. ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation.) I also have a deep association working with artistic/creative type individuals and can address particular issues that arise being an artist confined to a conventional/mainstream worldview.

While I work with a diversity of people, I specialize in working with LGBTQ individuals, couples and youth. As a Marriage and Family psychotherapist, I seek to help my clients find their way through the hardships that life can bring. I believe in the healing power of the therapeutic relationship as well as each individual having the power to heal themselves. I believe in a strength based, solution focused approach to therapy and work with my clients to not only overcome their current circumstances but to also develop tools and strategies that they can use moving forward in their lives.

I have been fortunate to spend the past 29 years working with children and their families-initially as a middle school teacher and now as a LMFT. I'm dedicated to helping my clients have the tools they need to successfully navigate the challenges in their lives. I work with families and individuals struggling with unhealthy communication patterns, major life transitions, grief, trauma, anxiety/depression, defiance, and sibling rivalry. I believe in the power of relationships to heal, so my main focus is on creating a strong working alliance with my clients. Parenting classes, consultations, and new moms' groups offered.

Is your child exhibiting emotional and/or behavioral problems? Are you having problems with your relationships or at work? Are you feeling overwhelmed with anxiety or struggling with depression? I can help. In the safety of a caring and collaborative relationship, we will work on understanding how difficult life patterns are no longer serving you. My role is to meet my clients where they are and help guide them toward making lasting positive changes. I provide both short-term and long-term therapy. Call for a free consultation today!

I am an experienced psychotherapist with offices in both San Francisco and Berkeley. I provide therapy for adults and adolescents as my primary focus. I meet with individuals, couples, and families to help them overcome areas of emotional and relational difficulties. I have an active, open way of working and am curious, engaged, honest, and direct. I take people's need for change very seriously, and am an advocate for finding ways to help people live with greater depth, satisfaction, and choice. While this can involve diligence, resilience, and perseverance, play and creativity are also integral in the process.

I am the therapist for the working professional and their families. I am available to accept new clients. I provide Problem Solving Strategic Therapy and Solution-Focused Therapy, Somatic Psychotherapy, Career and work related Coaching and Leadership Development. I work with high functioning adults and adolescents, individuals and families; with students on performance and anxiety issues; with couples to improve communication and emotional connection/intimacy. Trying to conceive, Pregnancy, Postpartum and Parenting. I work in California for therapy; globally for coaching.

Life used to be easier! Perhaps you feel stuck in your relationships and you are not getting along with the people you see daily. Issues in life can be overwhelming and full of challenges. I begin by meeting you at your place of growth or healing, and whether trauma, abuse, grieving, recovery or life issues, we work together to overcome them. There is hope. Let me help you reach the goals and connections you deserve. With sensitivity and compassion, we work to determine what might be blocking your full potential and your feelings.

Do you find yourself having a difficult time coping with anxiety, depression, and trauma? Do you have a hard time communicating and setting boundaries with others? Life is full of obstacles and hardships that may be difficult to overcome without the right tools, resources, and, guidance leading to the manifestation of these symptoms. I specialize in working with adults, couples, and adolescents using a Psychodynamic approach to explore unconscious thoughts and behaviors. In doing this, we are able to collaboratively recognize old ineffective patterns and process unresolved feelings and trauma.

In addition to adult individuals and couples, I work quite well with difficult adolescents and pre-teens, and can tolerate a high degree of intensity in therapy sessions. I am uniquely capable of providing a containing and non-judgmental space, and am particularly interested in working with issues that arise as a result of counter-culture lifestyles. I bring a social justice perspective to my work, meaning that I take the entirety of my clients' environment as equally important and formative as their early childhood relationships and mental processes.

Are you hoping to have more energy? Would you like to be a calmer parent or partner? Are you hoping for stronger or smoother relationships with important people in your life? Do you worry about how your child is doing in school, or how they feel about themselves as a learner? I provide detailed assessments, and individual, group and family therapy to help kids, families and adults build on their strengths. Together we will figure out how to help you, and/or your children, feel better, function better, and live a life with less friction and more fulfillment.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist with 25 years of experience treating children, adolescents, families and adults. I provide highly indiviudalized therapy to each and every client. I integrate techniques from several theoretical orientations, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, solution-focused therapy, family systems theory, and psychodynamic theory, to formulate an indiviudalized treatment plan for each client. Within the session, I create a safe, compassionate and confidential setting for clients to address their core issues and to work out past and present difficulties.

I work with clients from a client-centered approach which is intended to provide the safe space needed for healing. Together we will target debilitating symptoms. I work with adolescents and adults in individual and family settings. and couples seeking support in their relationship. I work with people seeking awareness on how to improve their life and support in achieving their goals. Together we will restore healthy lifestyle patterns and plan for future success. Teens, adults and couples often can suffer from the same depressive, anxious and traumatic experiences, but will need different support to heal.

I have over 20 years of experience working with adults, children, adolescents, and couples in a variety of settings. My approach involves warmth, honesty, insight, compassion, and humor. My philosophy is grounded in the core Humanistic principles of genuineness, empathy, and respect. Through my work, I have helped people from diverse backgrounds achieve improved health and move toward greater satisfaction in their lives and in themselves. I encourage individuals to tap into their own inherent strengths to find new, and more constructive, ways of navigating life's problems.