Marriage Counseling Therapists in Oakland, CA

As an engaged listener, I strive to create an atmosphere of respect and understanding, while also being compassionate, non-judgmental and warm. Within this safe space, we can explore family and relationship patterns and address your specific needs. I tailor sessions to meet each client’s challenges, developing trusting relationships that help him or her move towards a life of playfulness, passion and purpose. Your unique journey is made up of the circumstances, choices, beliefs and values that make up your reality. Together, we will determine new ways to bring tranquility, vitality, and fulfillment to your life. www.drzackberman.com

Life isn't always easy. Whether you're dealing with an existing challenge, a current stressful situation, or you're turning a page to start a new chapter of your life, I believe we all can benefit from someone helping us to manage these changes and transitions. My therapeutic goal is to help you better manage your life's challenges and to provide you with tools and strategies to achieve your personal goals.

I believe that inside each of our struggles there is a choice and it's from this place that we can reconnect to and reclaim our inherent wisdom and power. My intention in our work together is to help shed light on the path to help guide you home to yourself

I am skilled in treating clients with the following problems: work stress; depression and anxiety; post traumatic stress syndrome; domestic violence, physical, emotional and sexual abuse; issues of acculturation and inter-generational conflict; relationship and women's health; as well as aging, losses and bereavement.

Are you looking for a consistent touchstone in your week or every other week that offers support in what you're navigating in your life? If you are looking to build your toolbox and develop your sense of empowerment to navigate this world, then we can work on that together. I work with clients seeking a combination of talk therapy and mindfulness practices to develop their intuition and a compassionate relationship with their inner world, and who are seeking to build more peace in their nervous systems, relationships, and environments. If you’d like to take a step, contact me today for a consultation.

As human beings, we walk the planet with a complex matrix of shame, hurt, and protection that can be peeled away like layers of an onion. With patient, careful, and non-judgmental guidance we can work to discover the deepest core of our beliefs, desires, and needs, expanding our stories and drawing meaning from our experiences. With this improved awareness, we can build tools and resources for addressing challenges, and perhaps more importantly, create a more peaceful relationship to those challenges. As a result, we become better at our relationships with ourselves and others.

I view my role to be that of a listener, supporter, encourager, and advocate. With me, you can expect to be heard and validated, while also challenged as we work to create new patterns and beliefs. ​

I currently have openings for children, adults, couples, and families at my Oakland office.

Seeking therapy takes courage and strength. Are you experiencing feeling stuck due to childhood trauma? I am here to provide you with unconditional support to process through your anxiety, depression, and other unresolved feelings at your pace. Sometimes we may need someone who is there for us and there are no problems in life that are too big or small. You have taken the first step to seek help, I can help you discover your inner strength to bounce back and deep inside you may be wishing for peace and equilibrium. As a therapist, I aim to help you reach those goals together to bring about inner peace.

From an early age, you always had to be strong. Never complain. Don’t cause trouble. Now, you’re an adult with your own life, family, and problems, but you’re still hiding your feelings. You’re always there for everyone else. And now all you want to do is hide and disappear but you can’t. It doesn’t matter how sad you feel, you still have to keep a brave face. Sure, you may feel lost and empty inside, but the kids still need to get to school, work deadlines are fast approaching, and the expectations on you are as demanding as ever.

Are you going through a major change such as empty nest, relationship struggles, parenting, fertility challenges, balancing home and work life, loss of a loved one or job or dealing with illness? Has your comfort zone been pulled out from under you? These changes can feel like a wave knocked you down. You have come to the right place if you want compassionate, yet straightforward support. Working together, we will focus on your goals, find solutions and help to get you feeling on track, healthy and equipped with new coping tools.

Often, the inclination to seek psychotherapy arises when a longing for change, transformation, or healing becomes clear. When listening to the call, what might become illuminated is a desire for deepening inner awareness, expanding capacity for embodiment, increasing resources to help tend to yourself, or a desire to gather growthful insights and make lasting changes. Rooted in Somatic and Relational psychotherapy, I support my clients in being able to connect more deeply to their bodies as a way to come into full presence of what might be arising and what might need tending to.

Finding the right therapist is hard. It is also worth the extra time and effort. Do you feel stuck, depleted or uncertain about your next step in life? Are you struggling to build your family, coping with infertility and loss, or feeling stressed by the demands of parenting? It is common to feel anxious, stressed or unsatisfied when life doesn't go as planned and you’re faced with unexpected challenges. You do not have to feel out of control or travel this journey alone. You deserve to receive therapy that is effective and tailored to you.

"We are now able to see the essential ingredient that makes psychotherapy effective and successful. It is not unconditional positive regard, nor is it magical words, techniques, or postures; it is human involvement and struggle. It is the willingness of the therapist to extend himself or herself for the purpose of nurturing the patient's growth - willingness to go out on a limb, to truly involve oneself at an emotional level in the relationship." M.Scott Peck, MD

My focus is on helping people to break free from painful, unwanted patterns in their lives, and to find greater confidence, connection, and joy. Couples work is a primary focus of my practice, and I work with couples at all stages of relationship. I help partners interrupt destructive fights, build effective communication skills, and create greater intimacy.

Step into a space where healing and growth intertwine. At my therapeutic practice, I extend a warm invitation to individuals, couples, and families of all kinds. With a foundation in mindfulness, I guide our journey with a deep focus on the relationships we build and the process we embark upon together.

Do you feel as though your anxiety and depression are unmanageable? How about feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or helplessness like you’ve hit rock bottom and are struggling to find hope for tomorrow? Once we start to unravel the details of our past and trauma we give ourselves the ability to process feelings that we have long suppressed. I aim to collaborate with you and provide tools to decrease the challenging feelings you are currently facing and achieve a more integrated and balanced sense of self, leading to emotional healing and personal growth.

I have worked as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist for over 25 years. I work with individuals and couples with a broad range of psychological and relationship problems. I very much enjoy the sociocultural diversity of the Bay Area and my psychotherapy practice reflects this diversity. Helping people maximize their individual potential is a never-ending source of satisfaction. I have special interests in relationship issues, women's issues, cultural concerns, and health-related problems. I also enjoy helping people find a balance between the demands of work, self, spirit and family.

*ACCEPTING CALIFORNIA, ILLINOIS, AND MISSOURI CLIENTS* Come be seen & be known in a relational space with me, so that you can finally arrive home in yourself. Are you curious if you have experienced trauma, or if trauma may still be affecting you? Have you worked with many healers & still feel stuck in certain places? Have you experienced a spiritual awakening & need to integrate the experience(s)? If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, then you may be in the right place. Trauma can express itself in PTSD & Complex PTSD symptoms, various types of depression & anxiety, & many other symptoms. Lets get to the root.