Family Therapy in San Rafael, CA

There are times in our life when we might feel overwhelmed and confused when trying to manage today's stressors. Fortunately, because you are seeking help, you don't have to go through it alone. Often we need guidance when navigating the challenges and feelings that come when difficulties arise. In a supportive and empathetic environment, issues such as: grief and loss, sadness/depression, anxiety, life transitions, personal growth, low self-esteem, trauma, chronic pain, ADHD difficulties, as well as child/parent struggles, can be addressed through a strength-based and solution-oriented approach.

Hello and welcome! I am glad you found me. I have 22 years experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. I have a strong background and interest in helping people improve their relationships with themselves and their family members. I enjoy working with parents who are looking to improve their connection and relationship to their children of any age. I work with mother's from pregnancy and post partum through empty nesting. I work with adults with a focus on improving their relationship with parts of themselves to increase self compassion and reduce self criticism.

People come to therapy for all sorts of reasons: Relief from sadness or anxiety, to break patterns that cause pain, to get clarity when you just don't know why life feels like an uphill battle or to simply get an "emotional tune-up." With compassion, emotional safety, and a clear, candid therapeutic style, I help people work through life's challenges using effective, evidence-based treatments that target the underlying causes for painful feelings. I believe healing happens holistically; Mind-Body-Spirit are aligned when people feel "right" within themselves.

I have over 25 years experience assisting people make significant changes in their life and learn strategies to lessen symptoms of depression, anxiety, bipolar and other disorders.

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.

Because childhood and adolescence are such fragile stages of life, treating emotional and behavioral problems quickly and efficiently is essential. I join forces with you to resolve your children’s problems through expert assessment and carefully designed treatment plans. I begin this process by offering you a free personal consultation by phone to discuss your concerns and possible evaluations/interventions.

Addiction is a complex illness that has a lasting impact on a person and their entire family. Everyone's best intentions to heal or change can often result in outcomes that perpetuate suffering. The addiction cycle can feel like a rollercoaster with fleeting to no progress, or worse. There is a way off this ride. At Marin Family Recovery, we believe that a person's ability to change their life story and fully live a satisfying life is possible no matter how dark the starting place feels. Addiction is 100% treatable. With life there is always opportunity.

I have worked more than 30 years w individuals & families with serious psychological and relational problems including the mood, behavior and substance problems that tear families apart. I help individuals and families navigate the perilous course of finding solutions while we work to improve serenity and sanity for all. Individual work is relational w/psychodynamic and a Real World approach. I have developed the “Stress-Induced Impaired Coping" model for family system distress and recovery. See my 2019 book: “Freedom From Family Dysfunction: A Guide for Families Battling Addiction or Mental Illness.” http://bit.ly/FreedomFamHC

We specialize in the treatment of children, teens, adults and families. We use ACT, CBT, art and play therapy to work with children who are struggling with friendships, impulse control issues, the effects of divorce, low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Our evidence based practices are especially helpful for children with OCD, separation anxiety, fears and phobias, attachment and adoption issues, sleep issues, and post traumatic stress. As a parent you can also benefit by gaining new insights about your child and getting guidance and consultation.

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.

As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 15 years of clinical experience, I provide psychotherapy for children, teens, adults, and families in Marin and San Francisco. My professional focus is helping my clients find the right theapeutic tools so that they can move beyond destructive thinking and feeling patterns, have new insight and healing regarding past traumas, and face their life challenges with confidence.

I have over ten years experience working with clients in their teens or twenties who have: attachment issues; ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression. They suffer relational trauma for a variety of reasons, such as: emotional abuse and neglect; physical or sexual abuse; and sexual assault. I help my clients resolve past trauma; heal attachment wounds; replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones; and to progress towards their life goals. This results in them having healthier and more satisfying relationships; a greater sense of connection and belonging; and higher functioning in every day life.

Are you Super Loyal? An excellent listener, who perhaps doesn’t share much about yourself? The one everyone leans on for support, advice, money, or favors? Are you the glue in your family, and the one who puts out fires? Many of my clients who identify with these kinds of qualities struggle in characteristic ways. Many are uncomfortable acknowledging their own feelings & desires. They make too many sacrifices to avoid being "selfish". They fear confrontation and the possibility of upsetting or disappointing others. They often get drawn into imbalanced relationships... or worse, toxic ones with selfish or narcissistic people.

I have an engaged, relational approach, grounded in modern research on the brain, trauma and attachment. I believe the goal of therapy is to realistically become who you truly are--not to fix you, or tell you how to be. I'm an eco-psychologist, a feminist therapist, and a Jungian. If you work with me, we'll look at your personal, family and cultural history, and the beliefs you hold about yourself and the world. Where we find traumas, disturbing memories, negative beliefs and uncomfortable feelings, we can use a variety of methods to loosen then, learn from them and heal them, including EMDR. I'm LGBTQII-positive.

I can help you feel good again in your life. You may have tried therapy before or talking with friends and family. But the real, tangible changes that you want haven't happened. I can help you create meaningful, lasting change by guiding you through experiential therapy that reformulates you in body, mind, soul and spirit. I specialize in working with: Pre-teens, teens and young adults; Families and Parenting- including acting out behaviors, conflicts with teens, discipline, substance abuse, etc.; Men's issues- including relationships, connecting with or managing emotions, career issues and life transitions

I offer a space where all parts of you are welcomed and deeply listened to. In a complex and challenging world, I have the tools to support you in compassionately engaging your inner work and cultivating more well being. If you are struggling with anxiety, the impacts of trauma, or seeking change and growth in your relationships and life, I can help you resource yourself in meeting difficulties. Together we can discover the sources of imbalance and address their root causes while building new skills and tools.

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.

Estrangement in families is more common than many people realize. Adult children find themselves making the impossible choice to separate themselves from a family they love and can't manage. On the other side, parents can feel fearful and powerless, hurt and confused. I can help you explore how efforts to reach your adult child could be backfiring, and why your selfless generosity may be met with rejection. With training and experience in individual therapy a variety of family constellations, I'm ready to help you get beyond feeling stuck.

I believe in storytelling, and that the act of telling one's own story can be one of the most therapeutic experiences possible. As a therapist, I am a skilled listener, able to help clients understand their own stories. My style is interpersonal, open, and communicative, recognizing that each person is inherently valuable, possessing an innate capacity for wisdom and wholeness. Please ask for me when you call.