Therapists in Santa Rosa, CA

I believe we all have multiple aspects to our personalities shaped by our years of living. Together, we look at how past experiences influence one's current choices and feelings. Sometimes it can be difficult to regulate all of these feelings, which can affect relationships, parenting and self esteem. I provide a safe, nurturing therapeutic place to explore these issues, and help restore happiness to one's life.

Greetings! My name is Chris Bongardt and I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I know that it takes courage to seek counseling, especially when it comes to challenges in your personal life and relationships. I provide a collaborative process with clients who are hoping to explore challenges and make positive changes in their lives. I offer a safe, empathetic and non-judgmental environment to explore feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. My therapeutic style is engaged and interactive and incorporates theory, experience, compassion, teaching, resourcing, intuition, strength-building, skill and humor. I seek motivated clients interested in making positive changes.

Do you often feel like something is holding you back from your fullest potential? Are you stuck in repetitive patterns that don’t serve you? Do you want to have a better relationship with yourself? In my therapy practice, we will feel into these questions as well as look at and build on practical ways to work with life’s many challenges. Through mindful inquiry, curiosity and kind humor, we’ll together create a space that is safe and expansive, that will allow you to find yourself in new and exciting ways.

Are you tired of walking on eggshells in your relationship? Do you feel guilty when you say "yes" to your needs and "no" to others? Do you find yourself in the same type of unsatisfying and sometimes emotionally or verbally abusive relationship? Repeating the same self-defeating patterns leads to anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. You may be your own worst enemy, but the good news is: we can't change anybody but ourselves. Together we'll explore your beliefs, feelings and behavior patterns that keep you stuck in resentment, unhappiness, and fear.

Therapy provides the opportunity to address personal concerns while identifying strengths to improve functioning, recovery, and growth. By taking a non-judgemental collaborative stance in therapy, I am able to help support positive and long lasting change. I offer a variety of methods to clients of all ages who are interested in exploring and resolving internal conflicts and overcoming challenges that prevent them from realizing their full potential. I can help you or your child build self-esteem and social skills, improve communication skills, and provide the tools to help cope with emotions.

In life we all have opportunities for growth and change, and no one person or challenge is the same. Therapy can be a place to gain awareness, insight, and most importantly find the confidence and personal power to make changes. I work to help clients identify and acknowledge what is not working for them as well as find their own path toward solutions.

We all have times where we could use some extra support. I offer a warm, engaged presence to help foster healing and growth. I believe we all have the capacity to heal but that we sometimes need a partner or guide to help us look deeply at the parts of our lives that need attention. I feel honored to be able to provide compassionate psychotherapy to individuals wanting to gain insight into old patterns, heal from past trauma and make needed changes in their lives.

You deserve a welcoming space that allows you to feel encouraged, understood, valued, and capable of positive change. As a therapist, and fellow human, I know how stressful and confusing life can be. Painful past events can leave us defeated and disconnected. Major life transitions can be overwhelming. Depression & anxiety can rob us of vitality and mental peace. Great healing can happen through safe & genuine connection to another. Sessions with me are peppered with moments of humor, gentle directness, and deep realness.

As we navigate these seemingly endless tumultuous times, having someone reliable to talk to about what we're experiencing that is outside of our immediate bubble can feel like the life boat we need to stay afloat. I can be that person for you. Together we can explore which coping strategies are working for you and which aren't, and how to get to a place that feels a bit more stable and manageable. You will gain insight that will help you now and in the future so that you can live your best life, even when challenges abound.

I utilize a holistic and integrative approach that offers a safe, supportive setting, using dream analysis, mindfulness, art therapy, journaling, meditation and other creative ways leading to an authentic and more rewarding life. From my studies under Rev. Kawakami, deputy head priest of Shunkoin Temple in Kyoto in Mindfulness and Zen Meditation, I have developed this therapeutic approach that treats, balances, and nourishes the mind, body, emotions, and soul. I use a variety of therapeutic perspectives and techniques including Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Behavioral, Jungian, and Mindfulness-based interventions.

If you are on this page, you are struggling with some kind of emotional issue such as stress, anxiety, or depression. I am here to help. I am particularly dedicated to helping people experiencing depression and trauma. I enjoy helping women strengthen their self esteem and assertiveness skills. Over the years clients have told me that they appreciate my relaxed style, and that I am easy to talk to. I also think that there is room for humor, as well as tears in therapy.

Are you getting the love and respect that you deserve? Are you suffering from low self esteem which is reflected in your inability to have a nurturing, loving relationship? Do you wish you could stop repeating the same patterns in spite of all the work you have done on yourself? Do you wish you were stronger and more resilient? Would you like to develop the capacity to experience more joy and wellbeing?

If you've been holding in your thoughts and feelings, hoping they just go away, and don't feel that you have an outlet, they'll likely come out in ways that impact your self-esteem and your relationships. You've likely been trying to solve your problems on your own for a while now but have realized that you need some help. I meet my clients where they're at using evidence based treatments tailored to meet your unique needs. I'm confident that we can work together to understand the causes of your struggles and address them with long-lasting results.

I am a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with children, teens, and adults. I am well experienced as a child therapist, and can provide parenting support. I treat issues such as anxiety, trauma, depression, life transitions, grief, divorce, blended families, self-esteem issues, ADHD, anger management, and behavioral issues. I have vast experience working in the public schools as a school counselor. I also have training in expressive arts therapy and yoga and mindfulness techniques. My unique training and life experience can provide insight to assist you with life's challenges.

It takes courage to reach out for assistance to deepen or strengthen your own path. I honor that courage & each unique being’s sacred journey. I offer a supportive space and strong container to respectfully attend to your inner world for healing, greater self-knowledge, growth and transformation. I offer presence based, Somatic Psychotherapy for couples, individuals, families, and adolescents. This is a holistic, mindful approach where I work collaboratively with clients of all unique expressions in attending to your sacred inner life for greater awareness, clarity, & empowerment.

Do you long to feel whole again? I am available to those who are struggling with grief, loss, personal trauma, or life circumstances. We will collaborate and help you find your center, strengthen your core, and equip you with tools to re-integrate your being.

I am a bilingual Spanish speaking therapist that specialize in depression, managing self-injurious behaviors, anxiety, self-esteem, divorce, sexual abuse, interpersonal violence/domestic violence, educational issues and coping skills to manage stress. The theoretical approaches I use in my practice include Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, and Trauma Focused Behavioral Therapy. I have over 7 years of experience working with children, teens, adults, and families. In my clinical practice I place importance in empowering clients to find their own strength

My ideal clients want to resolve the stumbling blocks in a variety of areas. Those include facing or have a family member facing a life altering medical condition and their challenges, dealing with traumas. Clients often come to me with anxiety, depression, self-esteem issues. We explore avenues to overcome or adapt to those conditions. Many clients determine as we work together that they need help with how they communicate - with themselves as well as with others.

Do you find yourself often getting caught up in your thoughts or emotions, easily overwhelmed and unable to feel secure and at peace? Do you struggle to feel more connected to your inner self, fully present in your life, and able to engage mindfully in relationships? You may not see it now, but you already have all of the wisdom and potential inside of you that you will ever need, it is merely a matter of unlocking it.