Divorce Therapists in Oakland, CA

At times, life can be incredibly challenging and painful for all of us. I specialize in supporting folks figure out the root of their difficulty and find the clarity and strength to move beyond their hardship. Whether you're feeling lost in how to address your issues or feel weighed down by trauma, I am here to sit with you and help you no longer be defined by these difficulties.

Relationships are big challenges. Who are we when we interact with those around us? Do we let others see us for who we really are? Can we see them? I specialize in working with individuals and couples as they try to manage their relationships: preserving them, ending them or changing them. This includes the effects of divorce and moving from a pre-divorce to a post-divorce family from deciding how to tell your children to determining how you want to define your co-parenting relationship.

I feel the theraputic experience is a rich and exciting way for someone to reach their full potential. We all have feelings at times that "something is missing". These are real feelings and will be explored through our relationship. I believe everyone is unique. I don't have a "cookie cutter" approach to treating people. We will get to know each other and deal with the issues together. I work from a psychodynamic viewpoint.I feel everything that you have gone through as a child, young adult, and adult is connected. Our job will be to put the puzzle together.

Are you experiencing marital conflict? Do you worry about how conflict with your mate affects your children? I have over 20 years experience working with clients dealing with a wide variety of issues, including family conflict, divorce, child custody, parenting issues, depression, addiction, and anxiety. Research has proven that the parental relationship directly impacts a child's self esteem and social skills. I am a warm, dynamic and solution oriented therapist. I work along side you, to help you identify and overcome the problems which are causing pain in your life.

I believe that fulfilling relationships are the central component of growth and healing. In couples therapy whether you are struggling with sexual issues or problems with money, mess, time, work or children, I will focus on helping you develop a closer connection and greater security which will enable you to more effectively address your concerns. In individual therapy, I will work to develop an authentic, attuned therapy relationship with you through which we can understand and develop your capacity in your relational world with partner, children, parents, work, creative and spiritual quests on a path of growth and healing.

Are you in the process of a big life transition? Perhaps contemplating or going through a separation/divorce, career change, or feel you have lost touch with a part of yourself that once held the spark of joy and passion. You may feel anxious, depressed, lonely, and unsure. You don't have to move through these times alone. Together we will work to cultivate a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you. My work with you is collaborative and non-judgemental. In our sessions I work transpersonally and somatically, incorporating EMDR, guided imagery, expressive arts, spirituality, tarot, and dreams.

If you find yourself struggling in life to feel whole, happy, at ease with yourself and being in the world, or feel frustrated with a lack of intimacy in your relationships, I can help you. It is important when searching for a therapist that you feel an honest connection. I give a free 30-minute consultation to help you decide if working with me is a match. I have trained in trauma recovery, somatic work, psychodynamic, cognitive, mindfulness, bioenergetic analysis. My focus has been working with individuals around healing from PTSD, anxiety, eating disorders, bi-polar, and marital relationship issues.

If you are experiencing stress responses related to trauma, grief, relationship (interpersonal and intimate) breakdown, divorce, family conflict, or existential crisis, then my training and lived experience makes me your ideal therapist. In my practice I provide a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental therapeutic space for self-care, emotional healing, and mental wellness to be actualized. With cultural humility as my underpinning, I will follow your lead and utilize your strengths to assist you in achieving your therapeutic objectives.

Hello! If you are here you are contemplating taking the first step towards your journey of healing! Life continues to happen and we can't control that but we can learn to can control how we respond. With my therapeutic support you will develop the tools needed to gain acceptance, use your voice and reclaim your power. I can help you arrange the pieces of your puzzle in a way that creates a healing space to learn to manage your triggers, stand in your truth and live the life you deserve. I am passionate about providing a safe, nonjudgmental space to practice this work.

Are you unhappy in your life? Unhappy with your relationships? Are you looking for an experienced therapist who will listen to what YOU WANT and need? I am a kind compassionate seasoned professional who will help you understand yourself better. I have an engaging and collaborative style. I help clients struggling with life transitions, relationships and depression/anxiety.

Trauma takes many forms; often in the guise of unprocessed grief and loss. Loss of employment, financial insecurity, divorce, separation, domestic violence and abuse; all must be mourned. We become stuck; often not understanding our own reactions to people, places and things. Our partners, children, colleagues and superiors can appear to feel unfairly entitled to what we have to offer. Our ability to tolerate distress is limited.

I am passionate about supporting children, adults and families to improve their communication, emotional connections and self-esteem. My approach is warm, interactive and strength-based. I have experience working with children and adults going through divorce, traumatic experiences, conflicts, challenges with self-regulation, as well as parenting difficulties and behavioral problems. I support my clients through life transitions, the process of acculturation and belonging, anxiety, depression or seeking any type of emotional healing from current or past experiences.

Who is driving you crazy? Your partner, your boss, your teacher, your mother? Are you feeling overwhelmed, trapped, unsatisfied? Would you like to be more assertive, establish stronger boundaries & have more satisfying relationships? Would you like to remove obstacles that are preventing you from achieving your dreams? I want to help you develop life-long patterns to sustain a richer, more gratifying life. I specialize in working with adults going through transitions relating to work, school & relationships. I love working with intelligent, creative, motivated & insightful clients.

Something is shifting in your life. The earth beneath you is not as stable as it once was. Maybe it's a major life transition, like going to college, getting married, moving to the Bay Area, or changing jobs. Maybe it's a loss, like a death, a divorce, a miscarriage, or leaving someone or something in your life. Or maybe this transition is harder to put your finger on...you might be feeling stuck and needing something to shift. There are many moments in life that offer an opportunity to transform, or require us to change if we are to continue growing.

I work with children, adolescents, adults, and couples. I specialize in issues related to divorce, grief and loss, life transitions, relationship/attachment difficulties, issues surrounding pregnancy, parenting, and cultural adjustment challenges. I provide psychological assessments for children and adults who are struggling at home and/or at school or work due to social and emotional issues, relationship issues, environmental stressors, behavioral challenges, attention and concentration difficulties, and learning differences. I also conduct child custody evaluations and forensic psychological evaluations.

I believe that understanding and compassion are vital for building trust, mutual respect, and openness, all of which are essential in forming a therapeutic relationship that can encourage change. My style in therapy is a mix of person-centered, solution-focused, cognitive-behavioral, and psychodynamic theories. With children I utilize a variety of expressive therapies including play, art, narrative, sand tray and bibliotherapy. In working with children, adolescents and adults, I use a cognitive behavioral therapeutic approach.

Lauren Chester (she/they) is a registered and board-certified art therapist (ATR-BC) who is passionate about cultivating environments where people can practice sharing their whole selves. Lauren believes in the process of art as a conduit for communication and expression and is passionate about the use of art to encourage meaningful conversations. Lauren’s practice of Art Therapy has been heavily influenced by the Disability Justice and Healing Justice movements and is non-hierarchical, co-creative, and gender-affirming.

The single most consistent predictor of success in therapy is the relationship between therapist and client. I prioritize creating a trusting relationship. My approach is collaborative, relational, and interactive. I balance listening deeply with gently challenging clients to make meaningful change. I am not a therapist who sits back silently. I also do not presume that any given technique or my own experience hold all the answers in our journey together. Rather, I draw on evidence-based, relational practices, more than a decade of clinical practice, and your lived experience, cultural and personal practices, beliefs, and values.

We all sometimes face a challenge in life that we just can't seem to resolve on our own. It might be a new chapter in your life that brings unexpected trials: adulthood, marriage, parenting, step-parenting, divorce, children leaving home, caring for your aging parents, the loss of a loved one, or facing your own mortality. It might be a conflict in a relationship with a loved one or in your professional life. Or it might be more of an internal struggle, whether recent or long-standing, that is giving rise to anxiety, depression, struggles with food or alcohol, or other self-defeating behaviors.