Feminist Therapists in Oakland, CA

Clients often come to me when they’re having trouble balancing multiple identities or areas of their lives. You might feel overwhelmed, overworked, or confused about why you don't feel better. Maybe you’re struggling to manage relationships, feeling like you can't relax, or not being accepted as queer, trans, or non-monogamous by family or community. You might feel stuck in your head, and aren’t sure which way to turn to feel better. I have a passion for working with people who like using their big brains to solve big problems, live in liminal spaces, and who might be struggling to connect with others in the ways that they'd like.

Keeping your head above water, let alone thriving while navigating work, relationships, parenting, infertility or postpartum journeys is HARD. We’re often set up for what feels like an impossible task, with a lack of a village to hold the struggle alongside us. There is an old Celtic saying, "It is in the shelter of each other that we live". I work with many parents and those on the journey to parenthood to help form their village and bring some more intentionality, ease, and joy on that journey. I'm enthusiastic about collaborating with you to explore practical coping strategies while also fostering a sense of self-compassion.

It's possible to have a fulfilling, meaningful and joyful life. I create a safe space for you to explore how your life experiences shaped your view of yourself and others. As a result of childhood abuse or neglect, intergenerational transmission of trauma and ongoing injustice, we can develop negative beliefs about our worth and what the world will provide for us. These often unconscious thoughts and behaviors helped you survive and even thrive but may not work well now. As humans, we go through many times of growth where we shed what doesn't fit, so we can become even an better version of ourselves.

I am not your run of the mill therapist. Oh sure, I listen well and am very compassionate and calm. But I just don't sit there and ask you how you feel. I do care about your feelings but I am more curious about your experience and how we can increase your awareness so that you can make helpful and inspired choices. As you can imagine I help people deal with any issue you can possibly think of- from depression to life transitions to the loss of a loved one or trauma.

So many of us have been harmed by other people, by systems of oppression, and by experiences of collective trauma. These experiences disconnect us from ourselves and from each other, so that we may blame and attack ourselves, or lash out at those around us, or feel compelled to be perfect at the cost of our wellbeing, or numb our feelings, or feel always insecure and unsafe in relationships. People who work with me are curious, wanting to know more about how past experiences are showing up in their feelings, bodies, sense of self, behaviors, values, and relationships today.

Are you wanting to experience more ease and happiness? I want to congratulate you on taking the first steps towards finding someone to come alongside you during this time. Maybe you are experiencing a big life change like the end of a relationship, a change in your career, a move, or a recent loss. Maybe you have often found comfort in spirituality and nature but still have a sense that something is still missing. Maybe you feel the weight of these last few years of covid. We have all been through a lot!

As our world re-opens, many people are experiencing anxiety, depression, and stress due to recent social isolation and the unpredictability of the future. It can be a highly stressful time for people re-entering the world and for parents and teens. I provide individual adult therapy, teen/young adult therapy, and parent coaching. I am knowledgeable with non-traditional family structures (single parent, multiple caregiver, polyamorous, & LGBT families), transgender adolescent/child issues, anxiety, and neurodiversity . I’ve also begun working with the emotional effects of long Covid and chronic fatigue.

Are you struggling with sexuality-related issues? Access to sexual health is a right. This includes expression of sexuality that is safe, free of judgment and shame, and centers pleasure. As queer folx, or queer folx of color, we've been told that our sexuality is wrong in so many ways. While the experience of marginalization is traumatic, we also have so much beautiful resiliency and abundant inner resourcefulness to counter that. I believe that we all deserve the right to heal, and that we all have the tools within ourselves to do so. My job is to partner with you & support gaining access to that intuitive healer within.

I believe that experiencing loving, nurturing relationships is the best part of being alive. I also recognize that for many of us, creating and maintaining such relationships can be incredibly hard. I view psychotherapy as a means to explore whatever is currently blocking our path to healthy, fulfilling and supportive connections--both to others and to ourselves. Sometimes that means building skills we never learned in the first place. Other times that means examining challenging past experiences. Whatever the circumstances, I am here to support your journey toward growth, fulfillment, and ultimately, greater joy.

I specialize in working with couples and 2+ partnerships, in which one or more of the partners identifies as bi, pansexual, or experiences multi-gender attraction. I support the members of these partnerships in building fulfillment and security in their relationships, while also enjoying full expression of their identities. I help each person regulate and understand their own system, in order to have more freedom in the ways they show up with each other. I also work with individual, queer-identified adults and teenagers who want to develop pride, comfort and agency by unpacking & separating from the impacts of systemic oppression.

Folks come to therapy for a variety of reasons that all boil down to change, whether they're struggling to handle it or make it. Many of my clients' lives don't align with societal norms, either intentionally coloring outside the lines or struggling to fit in. Folks may find themselves overwhelmed, dealing with big emotions, the effects of complex or single-event trauma, complex medical issues, or chronic pain. I am passionate about working with the LGBTQ+ - including trans kids and their families, disabled, and neurodiverse populations. I like to work with individuals, couples, polycules, and families of all shapes and sizes.

It’s not always easy to ask for help. It often takes courage to recognize that something is off and that your feelings and behaviors have overwhelmed your resources to cope. You may have already put considerable time and energy into your wellness and yet are baffled by why it is that you still are experiencing things like negative beliefs about yourself, overwhelming emotions, knee-jerk emotional reactions, difficulty having the kind of relationships or work you truly want, or why it is that you engage in self-destructive behavior. I'm here to help you gain freedom from these patterns so that you can live the life you deserve.

During unsteady times, we can become consumed and overwhelmed by our own pain and suffering. We may hide from the world and even from ourselves. The idea of being seen may evoke shame, fear, and anxiety that can keep us stuck. In our work together, we will practice navigating the crashing waves of life, diving below what seems to be true, and connecting with something larger than ourselves.

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.

It may have taken you a long time to get here, or maybe just a few sleepless nights. The fact you're here today means something is different from yesterday. You may be ready for something different in your life. A good fit with a therapist is key in supporting and helping you figure out what and how to make the change(s) you want. I'm genuine, collaborative, and transparent. Fundamentally, we all struggle with making the most of our lives and relationships, with meaning, purpose, connection, and belonging. Therapy brings our expertise together to help identify and create what will make your life more satisfying and fulfilling.

Lucy Jite-Ogbuehi, PsyD is a licensed clinical psychologist (PSY3392) based in California. She uses a client-centered/multicultural lens to inform treatment and creates a safe emotional space to explore identity, relationships, life issues, and emotional release, while simultaneously maintaining an open and attentive stance, and using active and reflective listening to allow each individual the opportunity to achieve healing within the therapeutic process.

Would you admit that you are your own worst critic? When you beat yourself up inside, it's difficult to find joy in your work and relationships. Finally softening towards yourself will free up energy for you to fulfill your goals. I use mindfulness and IFS (Internal Family Systems) strategies to help clients do deep and meaningful work in sessions. "I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side..." -Maya Angelou. When my clients begin to truly be a friend to themselves, they notice positive changes in many aspects of their lives.

I believe we are all whole but sometimes life circumstances, the way we grew up, the way we are treated by society/systems based on our identities, etc. can cloud the way in which we see ourselves or which tools we have access to. I specialize in working with clients who have experienced complex trauma due to race, gender, sexual orientation, abuse, violence, historical events and poverty. My hope is to help create more tools, help unpack the trauma, identify YOUR strengths and your understanding of yourself and help you navigate the world in a way that feels true to YOU.

Welcome! I work with people across many areas, but those who seek me out tend to be queer/LGBTQIAA2+, neurodivergent in some way, trans/non-binary/gender non-conforming, chronically or acutely ill, disabled, fat-identified and/or working on an empowered relationship with their body, polyamorous, kinky, sex workers, and non-traditional family structures. I'll be with you every step of the way as you move from shame to self-compassion, and work through the expression of anger, sadness, and grief around what you've lost, or what you never got to have.