Therapists in Oakland, CA

We all carry wounds that run deeper than we’d like to admit. Sometimes these wounds continue to affect us in the present, even if we hope we’ve put the past firmly behind us. Maybe you’re struggling with people-pleasing patterns, self-judgment, or perfectionism. Perhaps it’s hard to identify how you feel or what you really need. Or maybe you just have a nagging sense that something isn’t quite right. I help clients address anxiety, codependency, trauma, and more in order to reclaim their lives and build the future they want. As a queer therapist, I also specialize in working with LGBTQIA+ individuals.

As a Somatic Psychotherapist and Homeopath, I can support you in creating more wellness and integrity in your life. My work with you is Integrative, Collaborative and Transformative. As a licensed MFT, I can support you in a therapeutic process that can transform your life by: Moving from hopelessness, despair and aimlessness into revitalized energy and a new passion for the life you want to live; Changing feelings of anxiety and fear into a renewed sense of possibility and action; Shifting feelings of disconnection and loneliness into a restored sense of self-confidence and the potential for creating meaningful connections.

The health of an individual informs and inspires the health of the community. Are you, or a loved one, experiencing anxiety, depression, chronic irritation, grief and loss, fear or stuck in a pattern that no longer serves you? I am a healer and psychotherapist with over 20 years experience serving adults, adolescents and families impacted by interpersonal, community and historical trauma. I am committed to fostering healthy communities and families by supporting individuals and couples to access healing that reveals wholeness. Regardless of the past, you can experience a sense ease and wellbeing.

Welcome! The focus of my practice is to work in partnership with my clients to help build resilience and facilitate positive change. Fostering kindness and compassion with a mindfulness based approach is at the heart of my work. I provide a safe and nurturing environment in which to explore options, and also offer the respect, understanding and empathy that encourages exploration and growth. As an experienced therapist, therapy can assist with clarifying, setting and maintaining your specific goals, as well as provide a space for self-exploration.I will be there to accompany and collaborate with you on your unique journey.

Sometimes life feels overwhelming. It can feel like we are fighting against unmovable forces or desperately treading water to stay afloat. Whether we zone out and lose energy, or become hyper anxious in response to our troubles, our nervous system takes over to protect us. When this happens we may find ourselves engaging in behaviors or thought patterns that aren't actually serving us, but keeping us stuck in a loop. Whether you are dealing with issues around anxiety, perfectionism, control, self-esteem, body image, relationships, co-dependency, boundary setting, trauma, stress, depression, or grief, somatic therapy can help.

Transforming our inner dialogues and practicing radical self compassion is an important part of healing. Speaking to oneself with gentleness and compassion can be a challenge for many, but we are all worthy of our own kindness. I am here to offer support in your healing journey with yourself. My approach is warm, patient, strengths based, and practical. I offer tools that clients can use to support their personal growth and healing, both during and outside of sessions. This includes learning how to build distress tolerance, learning emotional regulation skills, and practicing strategies for transforming inner thoughts.

My goal is to provide a safe and supportive container of warmth, presence, and non-judgement where you can bring both your vulnerability and your strengths. Whatever brings you to therapy, we will explore together at your pace and with your unique needs in mind. Whether you are struggling with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, childhood trauma or grief and loss, we will collaboratively work together to find out what healing might look like for you. Our work together can help you recognize limiting patterns or beliefs, create new options, and shed light on forgotten inner resources.

Do you feel unsettled in relationships? Or limited by other peoples’ ideas of who you should be or how you should act? Is it hard to turn off that critical voice inside? Do you feel exhausted putting other people’s needs before your own? Do you seek a greater sense of authenticity in yourself and others? Sometimes we don't have the words to describe our experiences and that's ok. Together, we can work to transform old patterns. Whether its clarifying what you need, improving communication, or getting past the unresolved, my goal is to support you and help you learn more about yourself and your most important relationships.

I am a somatic therapist who focuses on relational, attachment and childhood trauma issues. I work with individuals and couples to address relationship ambivalence, anxiety, major life transition, depression, stuckness, poor communication and conflict, among other issues. I help with building awareness of one's thoughts, feelings and physical sensations to develop greater insight and uncover new choices.

The people who choose to work with me often want something more than traditional talk therapy. People come to me who are experiencing challenges in relationships with themselves and others. This includes struggling in the relationship to being in your own body. I combined talk therapy with a number of mindfulness and somatic based modalities to meet you where you are and explore together what healing can look like. I work with individuals and couples or other relationship configurations. I also offer psychedelic integration integration therapy.

I specialize in treating adult and adolescent anxiety, life transitions (including divorce/separation, career changes, and geographical moves), parenting and co-parenting, and postpartum anxiety/depression. I’m also a certified couples therapist. I draw heavily on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Somatic Therapy to support my clients. I have broad professional experience, including Behavioral Health Lead at Santa Cruz Community Health Centers, extensive work in community mental health, clinical supervision, and program lead at Kaiser Permanente.

I offer holistic and depthful therapy that is both affirming and collaborative. My clients appreciate my gentleness, compassion & humor. My approach is de-stigmatizing and non-shaming, addressing & coming into contact with held stories and social narratives that may not match your current self or the self that wants to be. I hold an adaptive client centered framework utilizing trauma informed, social justice, somatic, parts work, & attachment based approaches. Sites of harm are often the sites of healing, in forming therapeutic relationship we can explore & come to know these sites and the unique offering &

I specialize in trauma-informed somatic (body-based) therapy for BIPOC. My somatic, psychodynamic, attachment, and spiritual approach supports clients in building a compassionate relationship with themself. My somatic approach also facilitates familiarization with how the nervous system communicates and the relational needs that are expressed through the body.

You feel stuck in your relationships. Feeling stuck with too many things you are navigating . You are out of touch with your needs and desires or how to communicate them effectively. You hate the fighting but don't know how to slow down. That's why I'm here to help. I support you build inner resources so that you can be unfazed by judgements and challenges, centered in your self-love and clarity, have ease in giving and receiving, communicating and decision-making. I am especially skilled in helping multicultural, marginalized identities, neurodivergent, poly/CNM couples with communication, trauma and intimacy.

I consider myself to be a neurospicy therapist, who is authentic and direct. My style is anchored in cognitive science, attachment theory, mindfulness, social justice, parts work, and somatic psychology. I value science equally with the domain of intuition and art, and I consider myself an especially huge nerd with evolutionary psychology. I'm queer and LGBTQIA+ aligned, and I'm fluent in polyamory and kink relationship dynamics.

I work with individuals who have experienced trauma and are seeking relief through an integrative, relational, and somatic approach. Drawing on somatic techniques such as EMDR and Somatic Experiencing, I support my clients in connecting to the felt sense of their bodies as a source of information. I believe that a gentle inquiry into the body’s felt sense allows us to safely integrate the past into the present and clarify what’s true for us in any given moment.

In an atmosphere of acceptance, understanding and clarity, I am here to support your relationship with yourself. Using tools such as mindfulness, insight, somatic and narrative approaches, I create a space where the many parts of you are welcome. Goal setting is a collaborative process and therapy can be long or short term depending on your needs. I deeply support the listening process, as well as the interplay between individual needs and relationship needs. I have a particular orientation towards meaning and purpose, and I draw from your values as a means of integrating both difficult and inspiring experiences.

I believe healing is a multifaceted process that requires a holistic and collaborative approach. I help individuals and couples overcome challenges like anxiety, depression, relationship stress, trauma, grief and loss, or life transitions. I will listen and engage with you authentically to help build a safe and trusting alliance. I use a trauma-informed and client-centered approach to better understand your unique situation and personal goals. I believe we are mind, body, and spirit and my aim is to treat the whole person so that we can live in balance with ourselves, our environment, and feel a sense of integration.

Welcome! I support my Clients' path to arrive at a freer, more empowered version of themselves. I am passionate about working through an intersectional and trauma-informed lens with everyone. I respect my Clients deeply and give them my genuine warmth and attentiveness. I am a good fit for people who are nervous about therapy, people working on boundaries, self love, finding their voice, embodiment, healing from trauma/complex trauma as well as folks from all parts of the LGBT+ family. I am here for gender exploration, questioning, arrival and take a non judgmental stance on all corners of consensual sex/sexuality/kink/non-monog+