Therapists in Oakland, CA

Right now, you are doing something very courageous! You are taking the first step toward a more meaningful and rich life. You might sense that your thoughts and feelings are holding you back from truly living your life. You might have had traumatic life experience(s) that shaped your life in a way that is unfulfilling and terrifying. You might feel plagued by depression and/or anxiety, feel uncomfortable in your own skin or as if you are not performing to your best abilities. I want to commend you for taking this step and I would feel honored to be on this journey with you, helping you live a more satisfying, engaged and full life.

Are you stuck somewhere? Did you hit a wall? Do you want to heal an old wound? Restore access to yourself? Cultivate a deeper understanding of the world around you? Explore repeating patterns? Break toxic cycles? Come as you are. Do you want to adjust to the changes in your life? Absorb a loss? Reassess your life goals? Overcome a challenge? Increase your self awareness? Be more present in the moment? Find your voice? Feel more empowered, more vibrant, more whole? Come as you are. I specialize in trauma, attachment wounding, adverse childhood experiences, dysfunctional narratives and toxic relationship cycles.

If you are looking for a therapist for yourself or your child, it is likely that some part of your or your child's life is not going the way you expected or would like it to be. Some things that seemed they should work perhaps aren't, or not as well as you'd like. Perhaps your child's feelings are stronger than you had expected, or they are not developing in other ways, and are missing developmental opportunities you know would be healthy for them and want them to have. Perhaps it seemed they might grow out of some of their difficult behaviors or feelings, yet it is hard to determine if they are on that path of growth.

Whether sitting with individuals or partners, I am here to remind you of what you already know but might have forgotten: you are enough. Many clients find their way to me because they want to work through challenges related to their identity, acculturation, sexuality, gender expression, relationship formation, and early traumas. My identities as a queer, non-monogamous, sex- and kink-positive, immigrant woman tend to attract potential clients who share some of these positionalities.

Clients I work with tend to have experienced developmental trauma that interferes with their relationships to themselves, partners and family members; have taken on shame, blame, guilt or distorted thinking/gaslighting from their family systems often throughout generations; and therefore likely experience issues around trust, intimacy, vulnerability and self love. I am committed to helping my clients to gain more peace and safety within their personal bodies, their homes, their relations and their family systems so they can experience more choice, empowerment and joy in their lives.

I'm an integrative psychotherapist working with individuals and couples. My approach is engaged and caring, providing a safe and supportive environment, where you can reflect and develop new ways of handling challenges you are facing. The focus of my practice is twofold: relationship issues and life transitions (e.g. themes like change in relationship, career changes, relocation, pregnancy, child birth and parenting, facing illness, trauma and loss as well as seeking more meaning and fulfillment in life). I have a particular expertise in working with people who immigrated to the US or have diverse cultural backgrounds.

Whatever your current struggle, loss, transition or self-limiting behaviors are, I am committed to helping you access your own wisdom and healing potential. I am interactive, supportive, engaged and solution-based, tailoring interventions to your personal needs. Goals can include helping you: Find personal freedom, hope, and self-compassion that are the calling beneath fear/anxiety; Become happier and stronger as you navigate through loss and change related to career, relationships, aging, etc; Find balance in your life and what really brings you passion and joy; Relinquish problematic behaviors and beliefs and find a more workable and heartfelt connection to yourself and others.

Dear Reader, choosing to seek therapy can be a difficult and stressful decision and I deeply respect your courage. My primary work is with women and men who suffer from depression, anxiety, feel generally unhappy and/or are struggling in their relationship(s).

I offer professional and experienced support to make enduring changes. If you are looking at this, you may be having a time of suffering or you may be looking for ways to thrive in your life. Psychotherapy is based on solid research and the world’s wisdom traditions, and is an experience between us that is unique to you. I believe it is the most important journey you can take to move towards healing and living a rich, meaningful life.

I work with individual adults of all ages as well as with couples: I like to listen to you, metaphorically speaking, with two ears: what you say and how you say it. I like to understand your internal make-up and the dynamics of your interpersonal relationships. I also want to understand with you how it all fits together. Perhaps, through collaborative curiosity, I can help you alter habits from back then that don't serve you in the here and now of your life at this time. I believe that relationships to yourself and others are critically important.

Developing and maintaining a vital and fulfilling long-term relationship is one of the most difficult challenges we face in our lifetimes. I see impasses and breakdowns such as extensive arguing, lack of desire or estrangement as "natural and necessary failures" that point towards deeper individual issues that need to be addressed and worked through. In couples' sessions I help each partner to find a differentiated stance, interrupt dysfunctional patterns and develop healthier ways of relating and dealing with conflicts. In addition to working with couples and individuals, men's issues have been a focus of my interest for three decades.

My practice focuses on issues of self-esteem, relational intimacy, shame, personality disturbances, anxiety, depression, trauma, and life transitions. I work relationally and dynamically with a present-centered approach on issues as they are currently manifesting but with an eye to how they reflect deeper structures of clients' personalities and values. Therapy is not focused on fixing things, but on relaxing patterns of thinking, becoming more flexible in communicating emotion, building resilience, and being able to be more creative and trusting of oneself and others.

People search for therapy for various reasons. Most often these reasons include feelings of sadness, experiencing difficulties adjusting to life changes, difficulties dealing with chronic physical pain, emotional pain, trauma, depression, anger, stress and anxieties. Perhaps you are trying to heal from a difficult relationship breakup, leaving you feeling sad and defeated. It could be that you are a part of a newly formed blended family, living together for the first time, and instead of joy you are experiencing chaos. You may be seeking help, because your spouse has received orders for yet another deployment with the military.

I work with individuals and partners from diverse backgrounds and life experiences. My areas of expertise are challenges with relationships and sexuality, communication, intimacy, desire differences, infidelity, sexual orientation, gender, and romantic and sexual lifestyles as well as self-discovery and sexuality through the life span. As a sex therapist I am trained to assist you with sensitivity and competence to address these issues. My goal is to support people in their self-discovery and self-realization as relational and sexual beings and to collaborate with you to strengthen your emotional, spiritual and physical well-being.