Adoption Therapists in Gaskill, Oakland, CA
Amanda Houston-Hamilton
Marriage & Family Therapist, DMH, MFT
Verified Verified
1 Endorsed
Gaskill, Oakland, CA 94608
My "ideal" patient is ready to make changes s/he has long wanted and feels able to explore the barriers to emotional well-being in partnership with an experienced therapist. Building a healthy relationship in therapy is not only essential to immediate goals, but is a skill that patients take away for use with on-going problem-solving.
My "ideal" patient is ready to make changes s/he has long wanted and feels able to explore the barriers to emotional well-being in partnership with an experienced therapist. Building a healthy relationship in therapy is not only essential to immediate goals, but is a skill that patients take away for use with on-going problem-solving.
Cindy Blackett
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, MFT
Verified Verified
1 Endorsed
Gaskill, Oakland, CA 94608 (Online Only)
I specialize in work with couples and individual adults dealing with relationship problems. Common issues for couples I see include communication difficulties, affairs, arguing or withdrawing, parenting conflict. I have experience working with a diverse range of people, including couples in mixed race/culture relationships, inter-faith relationships and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
I specialize in work with couples and individual adults dealing with relationship problems. Common issues for couples I see include communication difficulties, affairs, arguing or withdrawing, parenting conflict. I have experience working with a diverse range of people, including couples in mixed race/culture relationships, inter-faith relationships and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Kimberly Medina
Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT
Verified Verified
Gaskill, Oakland, CA 94608 (Online Only)
Welcome! As a licensed therapist I am continually inspired by witnessing clients make sense of difficult life experiences, past or present. Maybe this is a starting point for you and you are new to therapy, or recommitting to therapy after a break. Sometimes what holds people back from seeking help is self judgment (‘I should be able to handle this’), or fear that things won’t improve. You are certainly not alone, help is available, and change is possible.
Welcome! As a licensed therapist I am continually inspired by witnessing clients make sense of difficult life experiences, past or present. Maybe this is a starting point for you and you are new to therapy, or recommitting to therapy after a break. Sometimes what holds people back from seeking help is self judgment (‘I should be able to handle this’), or fear that things won’t improve. You are certainly not alone, help is available, and change is possible.
So often we live in the grip of anxiety and depression. Our families pull out our worst, the realities of adulthood drain us, loss of loved ones or our own capacities become existential reality. Despite these challenges, we can always make changes in ourselves to increase our resilience and sense of fulfillment in life. Psychotherapy is serious work. While humor and levity in the present can help lighten difficult memories, we will dive deep into the past with expert attention to inform movement into a more complete future.
So often we live in the grip of anxiety and depression. Our families pull out our worst, the realities of adulthood drain us, loss of loved ones or our own capacities become existential reality. Despite these challenges, we can always make changes in ourselves to increase our resilience and sense of fulfillment in life. Psychotherapy is serious work. While humor and levity in the present can help lighten difficult memories, we will dive deep into the past with expert attention to inform movement into a more complete future.
Kati Meyers
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
Verified Verified
Gaskill, Oakland, CA 94608 (Online Only)
Feeling overwhelmed or stuck in life's challenges is incredibly common, but you're not alone. I'm here to create a warm and supportive space where you can navigate these feelings with clarity and discover the path to a more fulfilling life. Whether you're grappling with anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, burnout, or facing personal challenges that leave you feeling isolated, therapy offers a powerful starting point for change.
Feeling overwhelmed or stuck in life's challenges is incredibly common, but you're not alone. I'm here to create a warm and supportive space where you can navigate these feelings with clarity and discover the path to a more fulfilling life. Whether you're grappling with anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, burnout, or facing personal challenges that leave you feeling isolated, therapy offers a powerful starting point for change.
Through therapy with your child, I will work in building resiliency, learning new coping skills, emotional regulation, and providing a safe space to process memories and current life experiences and traumas. Unlike adults who tend more to communicate verbally or from a logical perspective, children use creativity and imaginative play to express their inner thoughts and feelings, it is often the main way children relate and learn about themselves and their world. Through play therapy, I respond to your child with care, attunement, and skillfulness in helping them understand difficult emotions and make sense of confusing experiences.
Through therapy with your child, I will work in building resiliency, learning new coping skills, emotional regulation, and providing a safe space to process memories and current life experiences and traumas. Unlike adults who tend more to communicate verbally or from a logical perspective, children use creativity and imaginative play to express their inner thoughts and feelings, it is often the main way children relate and learn about themselves and their world. Through play therapy, I respond to your child with care, attunement, and skillfulness in helping them understand difficult emotions and make sense of confusing experiences.
I am Karina Valdez, LMFT. I understand life can be overwhelming and stressful. I am here to help guide you to be the best version of yourself where you can learn how to cope with the stressors and adversities that life throws at you on a short- and long-term basis. Therapy is a way for you to have a confidential, non-judgmental, safe space to explore what troubles you most in life. My primary focus in my practice is helping people heal from traumatic adversities that have occurred in their life.
I am Karina Valdez, LMFT. I understand life can be overwhelming and stressful. I am here to help guide you to be the best version of yourself where you can learn how to cope with the stressors and adversities that life throws at you on a short- and long-term basis. Therapy is a way for you to have a confidential, non-judgmental, safe space to explore what troubles you most in life. My primary focus in my practice is helping people heal from traumatic adversities that have occurred in their life.
I specialize in supporting adolescents and young adults working through eating disorders, perfectionism, anxiety, depression, life transitions, and identity exploration. Because of my own background and identities, I am passionate about working with People of Color, trans-racial adoptees, LGBTQ folks, and athletes.
I specialize in supporting adolescents and young adults working through eating disorders, perfectionism, anxiety, depression, life transitions, and identity exploration. Because of my own background and identities, I am passionate about working with People of Color, trans-racial adoptees, LGBTQ folks, and athletes.
Zena Andreani
Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT
Verified Verified
1 Endorsed
Gaskill, Oakland, CA 94608 (Online Only)
Waitlist for new clients
I am a trauma focused therapist providing individual, couples and family therapy in California. My goal as a therapist is to help you understand your own history; your experiences in suffering, joy, grief, and more, so that you can openly see the person you are today and explore the person you might like to become.
I am a trauma focused therapist providing individual, couples and family therapy in California. My goal as a therapist is to help you understand your own history; your experiences in suffering, joy, grief, and more, so that you can openly see the person you are today and explore the person you might like to become.
See more therapy options for Gaskill, Oakland
Nearby Adoption Therapists Searches for Gaskill, Oakland
- Grand Lake
- Mountain View Cemetery
- North Oakland
- Oak Center
- Piedmont Ave
- Piedmont Avenue
- Pill Hill
- Rockridge
- Shafter
- Temescal
- Uptown
- West Oakland
Adoption Therapists
Does my adopted child need therapy?
Not every adopted child needs therapy. However, many can benefit from seeing an adoption-informed therapist, especially if they were victims of abuse or neglect, appear withdrawn or disconnected, have behavioral or developmental issues (which may or may not be related to their adoption), are struggling with feelings of grief or loss surrounding their birth parents, or find it difficult to establish an identity, a challenge that often becomes most apparent during adolescence.
When should adoptive parents seek therapy?
Prospective parents can benefit from therapy even before an adoption—for example, to voice worries and fears; to reconcile infertility struggles, if relevant; or simply to prepare themselves for parenthood. After the adoption, parents who are struggling to bond with their child; are unsure how to talk about adoption or related issues, such as race; or whose child is dealing with developmental, behavioral, or psychiatric concerns can address these and other issues with the help of an adoption-competent therapist.
Is family therapy appropriate for adoptive families?
Family therapy can be invaluable for strengthening the bond between adoptive parents and children, helping the latter feel more secure in their place in the family. Family therapy can also help adoptive families navigate complex communication issues—for example, parents who feel uncomfortable discussing race with their child, who in turn feels invalidated by their silence, or a child who has questions about his birth parents but avoids asking them out of fear of hurting his adoptive parents’ feelings.
What therapy is not appropriate for adoption issues?
A discredited therapy known as “attachment therapy” (sometimes called “holding therapy” or “rebirthing therapy”) should not be used to treat adopted and foster children, though it was largely designed for this population. Attachment therapy involves restraining, coercing, and punishing the child in order for them to “release” negative emotions and attach to their new caregivers—techniques that are abusive and dangerous and have even proven fatal in some cases.