Narrative Therapists in Berkeley, CA

Triumph Over Trauma East Bay provides trauma-informed counseling services in Berkeley for Individuals, Couples and Families.

As a licensed clinical psychologist, I enjoy working with adults from diverse backgrounds who seek to improve the quality of their lives. Is there a place you find yourself stuck? Have you tried all you can and still find yourself in emotional pain? Do you have some insight into what may be happening, but want to seek professional support to grow and thrive? Whether you are familiar with counseling or not, each person's therapeutic journey is unique. Some people come with a specific goal in mind and others prefer a longer supportive therapy, traversing the many layers and aspects of their life.

My individual and couple clients are motivated for change, open to self-exploration, and committed to the therapeutic process. They may struggle with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, or trauma, but they have a strong desire to improve their mental well-being and overall quality of life. They value empathy, trust, and collaboration, seeking a safe space to express themselves without judgment. Their goals include gaining insight into their difficulties, developing coping skills, and fostering personal growth. They want to overcome obstacles, heal past wounds, and/or to find greater happiness and fulfillment in their lives.

Feeling anxious or a decrease in self esteem? Is your child/teen struggling or having problems in school? Looking for support to live the life you want? Psychotherapy can help you form a better relationship with yourself, your family, and others. I work collaboratively with clients, establishing a warm, empathic environment that feels safe and free of judgement. I provide individual psychotherapy and family therapy across the lifespan, and have training and experience working with children, adolescents, parents, and individual adult clients. I offer office (Berkeley), walk & talk (East Bay) and virtual (anywhere in CA) appts.

Do you feel the pressure to be perfect all the time in your relationships? Are you losing sleep because you cannot stop worrying about your future? I specialize in supporting high performance professionals who struggle with people pleasing and healing their painful childhood of feeling they were not enough. Often times, they feel successful on the outside, but feel overwhelmed in the inside with lots of disappointments with themselves for doing things all wrong. Let me help you to connect with your own superpowers that will help you have peace and joy in your life again. Come reach out for a free consultation.

Marcus uses a strength-based approach to therapy, and understands that everyone, including those seeking relationship counseling, deserve a place to focus on what's important to them.  He believes the human spirit has an astounding capacity for resilience against seemingly unbeatable odds. He meets the client where they are and helps build upon their existing skills to create a life they are excited about. In addition to couples work, Marcus’s background includes working with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, youth in residential housing settings, high schools, and unhoused families in crisis.

I have a particular expertise in working with clients who have diverse cultural backgrounds (e.g. ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation.) I also have a deep association working with artistic/creative type individuals and can address particular issues that arise being an artist confined to a conventional/mainstream worldview.

I have a history of working with trauma, couples, adolescents, ADHD and substance use disorders. I work hard at empowering clients to move past struggles that hold them back and to find a sense of agency and purpose. I use a variety of different therapies and techniques including EMDR, somatic therapies, trauma informed treatment and CBT to name a few of the modalities I offer to clients.

I am relational & direct, collaborative & holistic in my approach, and understand that society, systems, power & culture - in addition to family, community & self - are essential & inseparable ingredients when exploring our histories, present experiences, narratives & beliefs. I encourage my clients’ natural resilience & support integration & sustainability. I believe that we all inherently have what we need. Through the intentional creation of a safe, dignifying, empathetic & courageous therapeutic environment, clients move towards understanding, satisfaction, healing & transformation.

If you are suffering from traumatic life events, painful memories, anxiety, fears, or feeling stuck, allow me to help. I will work quickly and efficiently to teach individualized skills such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that help you control unwanted thoughts and fears. Using EMDR therapy, I assist my clients to process the root causes of their problems, enabling permanent resolution of painful memories, traumas and phobias. I am direct and solution focused, using up to date evidence based psychotherapy, within a warm, compassionate and nurturing therapeutic environment.

I am a sex positive psychotherapist offering trauma-informed Telehealth sessions to couples, families, polycules, and individuals in California. My practice is affirming and supportive for gender, sexuality, and relationship diversity (GSRD) from early adulthood to later life. With a nurturing and non-judgmental approach, I empower people to explore their desires, overcome obstacles, and create fulfilling relationships. I aim to provide a grounded and warm space for folks to explore the parts of themselves that are challenging to sit with alone. I am kink affirming, queer affirming, and non-monogamy affirming!

My approach is interactive and relational and I will meet you where you are with a great deal of warmth, respect and patience. I see therapy as a collaborative process and I am dedicated to providing a welcoming, non-judgmental space where we can address your hopes for therapy together. I enjoy working with individual adults, adolescents and couples.

We were born to connect with ourselves and others, to be alive in our bodies and awake in the world, and to anchor into a sense of purpose. Painful experiences and negative patterns can disconnect us from our innate ability to full-heartedly live life. When you are stuck, dissatisfied in relationship, challenged by life transition, constrained by depression or anxiety, unable to heal from trauma, or simply feeling called to step more fully into your best self, therapy can be a powerful ally. I offer tools you can use to reconnect with your own power, resilience, and wholeness.

I believe that the soul has an innate drive toward healing. We each have the capacity to heal ourselves if we can slow down enough to notice what is asking for our attention. I approach therapy as a weekly collaborative ritual in which clients can become more skilled at listening and giving voice to their inner knowing. Weaving together tools from expressive arts, somatic experiencing, and trauma-informed relational psychotherapy, I offer an integrated, whole-person approach in which we work as a team to uncover your intuitive guidance and learn how to tap in to the wisdom of your higher self.

When you decide to look for a therapist, you may already be feeling overwhelmed by all that has led you to therapy in the first place. The process of finding a trusting, warm, and well-qualified therapist is indeed a challenging one; however, I try to make it as easy and seamless as possible for you. With over ten years of professional clinical experience with individuals of all ages, families, and couples, I feel confident that I can help you navigate your therapeutic experience with ease.

I approach the concerns that bring somebody into the consultation room with the humanistic belief that therapy can best take place through a respectful dialogue that fully utilizes the resources of both the therapist and the client. I regard the blocks that make such a dialogue difficult a worthwhile topic of exploration that can yield a strengthening of the capabilities for problem solving and growth. I am a native Spanish speaker from Argentina, and I offer therapy in that language. I also see multicultural couples that need bilingual intermediation. I have a special interest in couples.

My work involves collaborating with individuals and couples on their own personal recipes for life satisfaction and what their lives will look like when the "problem" is no longer a problem. I try to carefully separate the "problem" from the person, who is often doing the best he or she can, so we can identify strengths, resiliencies, and resources that allow clients to construct a life worth living and a relationship worth celebrating. This does not mean ignoring difficult issues or painful areas, but it is important to know at the outset how we will know therapy has been successful.

My ideology is inspired by the juxtaposition of American narratives, originating from the Deep South and Urban Midwest. Growing up in a Pro-Black, Christian Baptist home I learned how gender, sexuality, and white supremacy can greatly affect our culture, happiness and well-being. Early exposure to the mental healthcare system taught me that oppression can be as multi-layered and intersectional as the oppressed, and diagnosis will continue to be an act of oppression if it ignores cultural context, societal phobias, and systemic oppression. For a great number, our mental health is a representation of how we survive our social climate.

I meet people where they are at in their story. My goal is to walk along side people to discover their own resources for healing. I listen deeply. I bring a non judgmental presence that creates a safe place to talk about who they are, where they have been, and where they want to be. I am able to balance empathy with constructive challenge. I work with individuals, couples, and families of all ages that struggle with depression, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma, grief/loss and family dynamics.