Structural Family Therapy in Oakland, CA

Do you find difficulties with feelings of depression, anxiety, relationship/family problems, and trauma? These emotional disruptions can have a significant impact on our lives. Coping with these events requires various approaches, and I can assist you in recognizing your emotions and identifying possible patterns in your relationships. I can also help you develop resilience and acceptance towards challenging emotions, and support you in setting meaningful goals. I utilize EMDR, CBT, trauma-informed care, mindfulness, & person-centered therapy to reduce anxiety and trauma symptoms, foster resilience, and enhance the quality of life.

The therapeutic encounter is a unique collaborative journey. We cannot control what crosses our path, but we can see ourselves as brave enough to face it. People come to me when they are in distress, hurting or stuck and want to improve their life and relationships. I provide a safe space to explore issues with food, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, self-worth, loss and creativity. I love to work with couples using Emotion Focused Therapy. I am insight minded. I can help you face fears, own longings, repair hurt, deepen connection, renew dreams. I can hold your story. I am trauma-informed. I won't shy away from the hard stuff.

Choosing a therapist can be intimidating, especially for people of color. We might wonder if our therapist will understand the significant role of various cultural factors in our experience. I believe each individual brings with them a set of unique experiences, values, and goals, regardless of background. Perhaps you are an individual looking for a safe space to explore your identity, including ethnicity and gender. Maybe you are already in couples therapy and want the dedicated support of your own individual sessions. Or maybe you are having difficulty communicating with family members due to generational differences.

Do you feel as though your anxiety and depression are unmanageable? How about feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or helplessness like you’ve hit rock bottom and are struggling to find hope for tomorrow? Once we start to unravel the details of our past and trauma we give ourselves the ability to process feelings that we have long suppressed. I aim to collaborate with you and provide tools to decrease the challenging feelings you are currently facing and achieve a more integrated and balanced sense of self, leading to emotional healing and personal growth.

My experience comes from 31 years of helping children, adults, couples and families in both Community Mental Health and Private Practice. My approach is eclectic and tailored to each individual's needs to facilitate healing and growth. Through my years of experience I have witnessed over and over again people coming into therapy with great pain, discomfort and despair but with time, (sometimes within a very short time) their symptoms diminish and a whole new person emerges. Crisis times can be extremely painful and distressful but they can also be opportunities for growth and healing through therapy.

My work with every is client rooted in their natural strengths and tailored to their needs and experiences. You are the expert of your experience. I hold space to make meaning out of your thoughts, feeling and experiences. I believe that everyone possesses the tools to empower you in the next step of your healing journey. I simply help you to access those tools.

I am a father of three children with an appreciation for multiculturalism, I strive to include in my practice social justice and anti racism. I believe that the mental health challenges we experience, typically, do not exist on a vacuum and are often tied to the context in which we live. I am also a veteran with particular fondness for marginalized communities.

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.

I understand therapy to be a healing process rooted in our relationship; a therapeutic relationship built on authenticity, curiosity, empathy, deep attunement, and one without judgment. My initial goal is to help you become fully aware of your distress and understand it, and work with you to relieve it in the process. I believe that you have the innate ability to heal yourself and your relationships. So in the long-term, my goal is to help you access this innate ability.

Are you experiencing a loss, going through a life transition, feeling the impact of everyday stress, or just needing a space for someone to hold your feelings? Or are you an adolescent or young adult who needs the support of another caring adult, or a parent/caregiver who wants this type of support for your teen? Do you want to be able to share (unedited) your experience with someone who will help you navigate through it?

I am passionate about working with individuals who are experiencing anxiety, traumas that are single incident events such as car accidents, surgeries or that have occurred throughout ones childhood where they are experiencing physical or emotional symptoms now as a result. I love working with individuals who are looking on ways to feel supported to increase their own self worth in all areas of their life. My style is relational and collaborative and I believe that you are the expert in your own life. I can help support in creating change around what works best for you - I pride myself on meeting patients where they are comfortable.

I am passionate about working with those who struggle with relationships and boundary setting, and clients who struggle with balancing differing sets of expectations due to cultural, physical, or mental factors. I also work with couples from differing backgrounds to deepen mutual understanding and couples struggling through a difficult phase in their relationship looking to increase communication and understanding. I work well with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, immigrant and first and second generation individuals and families, mixed race or multicultural individuals, and those who are struggling with chronic illness.

I offer expertise in evidence-based treatments for anxiety, depression, and relationship difficulties. I use a collaborative and strengths-based approach that integrates cultural factors as appropriate. I was raised in an inner-city, urban area, and I carry a high level of understanding for individuals that come from marginalized environments like myself. I also specialize in professional and work stress. I have been a business owner, philanthropist, and investor for almost 30 years. I have experience with high output career stress and how it can affect us.

Do you feel depressed or anxious due to childhood trauma? Do you feel disconnected in your relationships with others? I’m here to help you develop an action plan for meaningful changes. My approach to therapy is relational and person-centered. I will work alongside you in a warm and understanding environment where you can explore your emotions and find better ways to deal with the stressors in your life.

Do you find yourself shut down or suppress your feelings? Do you struggle in relationships due to your trauma? Are you unsure of where you belong? I work with people of all identities to process unresolved feelings due to trauma. I strive to provide you a safe and non-judgmental space, in order for you to develop coping mechanisms for trauma symptoms (anxiety, depression, addiction, etc.) and to explore aspects of yourself. I can help you LET GO of past HURTS and develop tools to find RELIEF.

Throughout our lives, we all have experienced feelings of depression, anxiety, and anger. These emotions leave you feeling insecure, shameful, lonely, unworthy and stuck in unhealthy patterns of behavior. Trauma can have negative emotional and physical effects and can lead to family/relationship issues. I specialize in solution-focused brief therapy, motivational interviewing, mindfulness and CBT. These approaches allow me to work with the client to decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression and other health/behavioral issues.

Making the decision to seek out and find the right therapist either for you or for a loved one can be tough. There are many variables to consider and the task can be overwhelming. I work with people who struggle with issues related to identity, mood, life transitions, conflict, trauma and resistance to therapy often because it is mandated. I provide a safe space where you can discuss the details of your challenges and ground the clinical work in the context of the therapeutic relationship.

Welcome. Are you repeating the same patterns and don't understand why? Have you attempted to change only to find yourself in the same situations with the same problems? I am a CA licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years of experience helping people address their mental health needs and to improve their relationships and their quality of life. I am educated and trained in both psychodynamic and family systems therapy which informs my work.

Working in non profits and government services for 20 plus years both in San Francisco and Alameda County, has taught me the art of appreciating people for who they are, keeping an open mind and helping them see their own strength within. I am very excited to be in private practice. Working with couples , parents, and individuals. I am very curious and passionate about non traditional coupling, open relationships, polyamory, issues of infidelity and the sexual needs of couples and individuals. I believe that we can heal intuitively and I look forward to meeting people willing to share that journey with me.