Somatic Therapists in San Francisco, CA

I approach my work with clients with compassion, authenticity and openness. As a psychotherapist, I will work together with you to access the resources you have within you. When you are able to connect with this core strength, you are able to see more possibilities. Clients have reported that ,through our work together, they have developed a deeper understanding of themselves, more openness to meaningful and fulfilling experiences and a greater capacity for connection with others. They have also reported that their underlying depression has been alleviated and they have a greater ability to manage the stress in their lives.

Navigating life's challenges is never easy, but reaching out for help is a brave first step to living a more genuine and fulfilling life. I have expertise in working with individuals struggling with childhood trauma and trauma-related symptoms such as grief, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and relational conflict. I believe every client is unique and deserves to be listened to and understood in an empathetic way. I am passionate about creating a safe, kind, collaborative and judgment-free space where clients can attain new insights, experience new feelings, and find a renewed sense of physical and mental well-being.

As your therapist, I create an environment for you to feel safe to explore fears, challenges and your deepest desires. I'm here to empower you! I'll offer a variety of techniques and collaborate with you in developing goals to co-create a therapeutic experience, facilitating healing and personal growth. I use an anti-oppression, disability justice framework and consider how ethnicity, class, gender, age, ability and sexuality intersect. My background as a community organizer for social justice informs my practice. I will tailor our work together to address your unique and specific needs and preferences.

Dr. Denise Stilwell is a licensed clinical psychologist with seven years of experience providing psychotherapy in a variety of clinical settings. She worked as a nurse for sixteen years before she became a psychotherapist and brings that rich experience into her practice. She specializes in treating anxiety, depression, identity issues, interpersonal issues, grief, managing chronic illness, and somatic symptom disorder. Dr. Stilwell collaborates with her clients to ensure they feel seen and heard in their sessions while utilizing evidence-based therapy approaches that are culturally sensitive and individually focused.

I help free people from their past by guiding them into their innate healing potential. I help those who struggle to cope with anxiety, a harsh inner critic or self-sabotaging behaviors, depression, toxic shame and PTSD. My aim is to "update" symptoms like panic, perfectionism, emotional overwhelm in a gentle and supportive environment. Often, this work improves a sense of ease, inner trust and compassion with "tools" like EMDR, Somatic therapy (focused awareness), and child parts work. My role is to facilitate your own wisdom and healing. I trust the rest will unfold from there.

I offer long-term and short-term therapy for adults, children, and teens. My approach is direct and compassionate. I believe therapy should be deeply comforting while also inviting you to be genuinely challenged toward real growth and healing. My goal is to create a space of trust and safety, where we can blend humor and lightness with deep, meaningful therapeutic work.

Most of our wounding is experienced in relationship, and so our healing needs that too. I offer a compassionate, collaborative home base that responds to what you bring. Face your challenges with skilled support. We'll move at a pace that's attuned to you, balancing qualities of relief with growing edges. Together we can work to help you be in better relationship and balance with yourself and others, build resources, connect to your rich inner life and greater clarity, create an intentional path. Reach out...I offer a FREE 15-minute phone consultation, which concludes with a brief intake, if it's a good fit.

Are you tired of repeating old patterns that are holding you back in your life? Making the decision to heal, grow, and improve your life with the help of a psychotherapist is not easy and requires trust and faith. Dr. Babbel is a non-judgmental, supportive, insightful, and experienced psychotherapist, providing a safe place for you to explore old habits and new possibilities.

Imagine living free from the shackles of chronic anxiety, the heavy weight on your chest, and past traumas that keep echoing. If you yearn to quiet racing thoughts and self-criticism, my integrative somatic therapy can be transformative. Together, we'll uncover your inner strength and foster self-love, leading you towards a life of peace and resilience. Your journey towards true self-understanding and healing begins here."

Do you feel like you aren't good enough? Do you struggle with issues of self esteem or self worth? Do you want to explore mind-body connection & the way stress or emotional pain lives in our bodies? If these are themes for you or in your relationships, then perhaps we might work well together. I center my work around self compassion. Only from a place of self kindness can we feel grounded within ourselves to develop a compassionate relationship with others around us. I use mindfulness and somatic body oriented work in order to help us connect deeper with our self, our inner knowing and to be able to cultivate trust with ourselves.

Welcome, glad you're here. Let's be honest, life often is messy and can feel like a struggle. And yet, what if beneath trauma, disappointments, frustrations, or seemingly poor life choices lie seeds of growth that just need some watering? What if you already contain the ingredients essential for thriving? Might your relationships as well? In my view therapy provides a sacred like opportunity where one is offered a chance to experience renewed vitality, meaning, and an invigorated sense of mind, body, spirit, and soul. A space where the genius in you or perhaps the potentials lying in relationships and parenting roles can emerge.

Are you overwhelmed by emotional turmoil? Is a relationship causing you pain? Do you feel stuck in anxiety or depression? As an expert in emotional resilience and relational wellbeing, I help you get in touch with what you deeply want and uncover internal resources that have been buried. I assist you in developing communication skills to navigate the complexities of friendship, family and work. From this place of strength, we create together a safe space in therapy to experience and express the full range of human emotions so that even the most difficult experiences and traumatic events can be processed.

I work with individuals who are looking to explore the underlying experiences from their past that shape their present suffering, those who have struggled to feel safe in their own bodies, and those who want to welcome greater presence, joy, and agency into their lives right now. With couples and families, I look for the dynamics that create a unique system that has its successes and its stressors. Together, we'll find ways to support you to communicate from a place of openness rather than defensiveness so that you can begin to hear each other through the noise and work toward resolution. Trauma-informed and LGBTQIA-affirming.

I help individuals, couples, & polycules with issues across all types of platonic & intimate relationships – from friends, family, colleagues, communities, to lovers including intimacy and sex. I can help you develop your relational, charismatic, emotional, dating, & erotic skills for the best professional opportunities, relationships, intimacy, and sex possible. I can help you embrace your authentic desires, make dating fun, flirt flawlessly, overcome shame, re/ignite the spark, build confidence, connect to communities, overcome porn addiction, manage open relationships, and go for what you want & stop what you don't.

You may be feeling anxious, struggling with sleep, and are desiring healthier and more connected relationships. Deep down there is another part of you that desires more fulfillment, less anxiety, and inner confidence. I can help you. I successfully support my clients in developing new inner resources to have greater relationship success and a holistic health toolbox to not just survive but instead to thrive. My expertise includes working with highly sensitive adults, couples, and families.

Are you looking to recover from the wounds of narcissistic abuse and codependency and forge happier, healthier relationships? Welcome. Or do you need support for having a loved one with serious mental illness (SMI)? Welcome.

Therapy is a way of connecting to yourself and exploring your challenges in a safe and collaborative way. I understand the bravery it takes to show up in your vulnerability and I aim to provide a safe, non-judgmental, and compassionate space that cultivates courage over comfort in our work. As a somatic psychotherapist, I like to offer a space for the body and mind to connect. My work is also influenced by humanistic, relational, and psychodynamic modalities tailored to support your unique individual needs.

Making positive changes in our lives is not always easy. It takes courage and strength to reach out for support during challenging times. In our healing journey together, connection to our emotions, our body (somatic mindfulness), our creativity and our life force brings deeper relationships with others leading to a greater connection to ourselves. If we have experienced trauma we can find new ways to self-regulate and build resilience. We can learn to love and accept all the different parts of who we are. I feel honored to accompany you on this journey while providing skillful guidance, attunement and resources along the way.

There are many factors that can lead a person to therapy. Perhaps you’re experiencing a persistent feeling of fear, loneliness, or anxiety, but can’t quite put your finger on where it’s coming from. You may have experienced a recent change or loss of a loved one, relationship, or job that is profoundly impacting you. Or, it could be that the voice of your inner critic is so loud that they/she/he is all you hear.