Therapists in Uptown, Oakland, CA

Experience compassion and open-heartedness in everyday life and freedom from patterns of the past. I see individuals, couples and families with issues of integrating trauma, communication/knowing your truth, healing sexuality/deep connection, infidelity, addiction and family concerns. I help clients find a fuller, more alive life, in partnership with the people and family, chosen or from birth, around them.

I work with individuals looking to fundamentally change the way they relate to themselves, to break free from the burden of impossible standards and feelings of inadequacy. Often this involves investigation into the ways we relate to ourselves and to the ways we can punish or sabotage ourselves. Working together, we can find new ways to cope that allow you to live a more vital and authentic life, less encumbered by anxiety and stress. I believe that this kind of work represents no less than liberation from the doubts and fears that stop you from living your own best life.

Over the past 17 years I have been healing the families of Alameda County. I am most known for my ability to reach hard to engage high risk clients in the African-American Community. I believe that my calling is to guide my clients to the roads of self-control, self-love, and self-motivation. Knowing that once one knows and loves their true self they are able to have better relationships with their children, partners, and family.

I specialize in trauma (EMDR certified), grief and loss, career, disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, depression, and anxiety. I provide counseling for individuals, couples, and families dealing with all types of issues and mental health disorders. My approach is process oriented and goal directed while providing psycho-education and resources. I will help you access your inner strength and build tools to cope, grow, and heal.

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 believe most people seek therapy as a road to change: lessening sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, shame; changing relationships; making life transitions. I have devoted many years of training and practice to better help my patients understand their unconscious obstacles to desired change. For some patients change means learning to confront pain from chronic conditions like anxiety, depression, bi-polar or attention deficit disorders, For others, change entails finding their authentic voice in relationships or facing difficult realities. I enjoy developing a close, working relationship with my patients to create new capacities within themselves, hopefully perceiving new choices in their lives.

I am an integrative therapist, using a holistic model and techniques from somatic, relational, inter-subjective, and transpersonal psychology, as well as techniques from my own long-standing spiritual practices, such as drumming, chanting and Vipassana Buddhist meditation practice. I got my masters in Psychology with a Somatic Concentration from JFK, Orinda, CA in 1997. As LGBTQIA identified and a Pacific Islander, I know that both trauma and healing can come from our individual and cultural histories. I welcome anyone seeking growth or healing and I'm committed to healing within marginalized communities. My areas of specialty include people with histories of trauma and/or addiction, people looking to integrate spiritual experiences, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community.

I specialize in working with underrepresented populations, particularly those who work in tech. This includes people of color, women, LGBTQ folk, first- and second-generation immigrants, and first-generation college students, to name a few. The issues that people commonly come to see me for include depression, anxiety, identity issues, low self-esteem and confidence, work stress, and dating/relationship stress.

I am a change oriented therapist and would like to support you in finding new solutions to old problems. I am part of a group practice that provides individual and group DBT, and I have experience working with addiction/alcoholism, trauma, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and psychosis. My other passion is parenting and pregnancy as I ran a parenting program for 12 years. I understand the stresses facing parents with young children, and will provide a trusting relationship where you can develop skills and experience more joy in parenting.

I continue to be humbled by the bravery, vulnerability and courage it takes to enter into therapy. The very act of reaching out is one of resiliency and strength, particularly during times when you may be experiencing difficult transitions, questioning patterns in life that no longer serve you or your relationships, feelings of worry, sadness and overwhelm.

Looking for a queer therapist? I specialize in working with queer, gay, bisexual, & transgender adults & adolescents in California. I am most passionate about providing advocacy for cultural and economic diversity in our community and serving LGBTQ+ people experiencing depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Engaging in therapy is more important than ever especially in response to our current political climate and recent backlash of conservative values showing incredible disrespect toward the LGBTQ+ community and throwing extra stress at immigrant populations and POC.

No matter what difficulty you face, together we can find our way through. Most of us change only when what we've been doing completely stops working! In that way, our most challenging times also have the potential to change us in mysteriously positive ways. Let's travel together to find your best life!

It takes courage and strength to embrace healing, to create change, to experience deeper intimacy and to grow personally and spiritually. I believe that people are uniquely equipped in what they need to create both the life and relationships they want. In collaboration with you, we will work together to resolve any roadblocks and develop the tools to create both the life and relationships you desire. A quality that defines my practice is the ability to help people feel accepted and able to open up to share and explore what is on their heart and mind.

I believe that each of us is a unique expression of Love and that we are at our happiest and most content when we feel in touch with ourselves and our loved ones. I also know that life can be challenging and seem overwhelming at times. Experiences of trauma, relationship problems, transitions, illness/death, and even the world around us can leave us feeling anxious, depressed or alone. My focus is on helping my clients learn the tools that they need to discover or return to the self they desire to be.

I provide therapy for those experiencing a wide range of life challenges including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, trauma recovery, grief and loss, life transitions and relationship concerns. With my background in Technology and corporate work (over a decade) I am very conversant and knowledgeable of that world. I have extensive experience and expertise in working with Anxiety, relationship issues and highly sensitive people.

Every person that enters into therapy wants the same thing; to give and receive love more freely and fully. I believe this is not only possible it is your divine birthright. I am here to partner with you on your healing journey - to help guide you back to a state of greater freedom, wholeness and connection. In our work together, we aim to activate your innate resiliency, repair old relational injuries and release oppressive binds of shame-based conditioning. I see our work through a lens of possibilities. Most importantly, I already see you as a whole being.

I am accepting clients for my Dialectical Behavior Therapy program. Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a very effective treatment that helps you build a worthwhile and fulfilling life. You accept that you suffer, but also you learn to accept that you want to get better. I will help you to train your mind and body to peacefulness, and to significantly decrease every day stress. Combining distress tolerance practice, mindfulness skill building, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness skill building, I will guide you to heal the effects of trauma, depression and anxiety and replace that with establishing well-being.

You’ve had difficult things happen in your life. Sometimes you feel like it’s your fault that you feel this bad and that you should just be able to get over it. Or you worry you are making a big deal out of nothing. You’re tired of feeling so bad. And you think that it might never get better. You want to feel less overwhelmed. And you want to make sense of your life.

As we navigate these seemingly endless tumultuous times, having someone reliable to talk to about what we're experiencing that is outside of our immediate bubble can feel like the life boat we need to stay afloat. I can be that person for you. Together we can explore which coping strategies are working for you and which aren't, and how to get to a place that feels a bit more stable and manageable. You will gain insight that will help you now and in the future so that you can live your best life, even when challenges abound.