Sandplay Therapists in Oakland, CA

Finding the right therapist can be daunting, and for some, it can be the most difficult step. I offer a free 15 minute phone consultation so that you can assess if we are the right fit. I work with teens and adults presenting with concerns such as depression, anxiety, trauma, grief/ loss, chronic health concerns, relationship issues, and life transitions. In our work together we will explore your strengths and root you in them. We will define your values and explore how to live your life in harmony with them. We will also create space for the areas in your life where you want change and navigate the path to get you there.

I am a licensed child psychologist with extensive experience in providing therapeutic services to children, adolescents, emerging adults, and families. My specialization lies in helping clients navigate through various challenges such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, peer and family stress, learning, behavioral and attention difficulties, life transitions, trauma, separation, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. Additionally, I offer guidance to parents, helping them understand their children's challenges and strengths more deeply, enhance family communication and connection, and learn effective parenting and coping skills.

Are you or your child unhappy, anxious, angry, or grieving? Perhaps you are adjusting to a bipolar diagnosis, recovering from trauma, struggling in relationships, seeking personal growth, or discovering your identity. Adults, couples, and children are all welcome in my practice! Together, we will consider the complexity of who and how you are—your unique combination of life experiences, temperament, culture, relationships, and more. In exploring formative experiences and present-day struggles and strengths, we will discover and address what is interfering with you having the life you desire.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist since 2011, I have had the pleasure of providing services to individuals, families, and couples dealing with communication issues, intimacy concerns, family conflict, and marital instability. The goal will be to identify ineffective behaviors to improve the ability to communicate and work towards healthier patterns of living in peace and harmony. I offer solution-based work, often utilizing Gottman's Method, as well as in-depth work from an attachment and cognitive behavioral lens. My goal is to create a safe, open and honest environment where we face life's challenges together.

I offer short and long term treatment of distressing psychological symptoms. Common symptoms include attentional difficulties, debilitating anxiety, lack of energy/motivation, overwhelming sadness and anger, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, and psychosomatic symptoms. These symptoms often emerge in response to life transitions, intergenerational family dynamics, identity crisis, difficult or traumatic past events, racial trauma, or the loss of a relationship. An additional focus of my practice centers around issues of racial and ethnic identity, navigating interracial relationships, and immigration related issues.

I offer psychotherapy for ages 14 and up and neuropsychological assessment for ages 6 and up. My therapy approach is relational and solution focused and begins with building a mutual understanding of your goals and how those goals will make a positive difference in your life. If aligned with your goals, I may introduce CBT and DBT informed interventions to address specific concerns. My assessments provide comprehensive written reports of clients' learning and mental health profiles, which may be used to document diagnoses so clients receive appropriate accommodations in school and/or on standardized admissions/licensing exams.

Welcome, I'm Carter, a somatic therapist passionate about empowering people to discover their distinct voices. Through a holistic approach centered on body awareness and mindful exploration, I create a safe, sensory-sensitive space. Guiding clients in understanding how their bodies hold and express emotions, we uncover pathways to self-expression and healing. Sometimes it can be hard to sift through the noise of our world. By slowing down and tuning into our bodies we can illuminate the parts of ourselves that yearn to be seen and heard. I will support you to identify and honor your values, strengthening your authentic voice.

While I work with a diversity of people, I specialize in working with LGBTQ individuals, couples and youth. As a Marriage and Family psychotherapist, I seek to help my clients find their way through the hardships that life can bring. I believe in the healing power of the therapeutic relationship as well as each individual having the power to heal themselves. I believe in a strength based, solution focused approach to therapy and work with my clients to not only overcome their current circumstances but to also develop tools and strategies that they can use moving forward in their lives.

I believe that coming to therapy is about making a home in ourselves: a home where we feel at ease, where all the different parts of us are okay and we don't feel that something is wrong with who we are. When life gets hard we can feel isolated and cutoff - from the people around us, and also from ourselves. When we most need to feel compassion towards ourselves it can be hardest to find. My work is to help you find that compassion for yourself and to support you in strengthening your capacity to meet whatever life brings with courage and confidence.

I welcome those into my practice who are struggling with a range of issues, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. I am trauma-informed, with twenty years of experience working with adults, children and families. I have worked with adults and teens who have come to seek treatment for various types of developmental traumas such as childhood physical and sexual abuse, neglect, as well as single incident trauma. I welcome anyone who is looking to create a safe working alliance through which to explore issues with boundaries and self care, whereby I can assist you in the cultivation of a compassionate inner awareness.

Has anxiety and other overwhelming feelings taken control of your life? Did you experience a traumatic event that continues to have impact? Have you spent years in therapy but still feel stuck regarding past events? Are you not performing like you once did in your sport or professional capacity? All of these are common experiences that do not need to continue and can shift to help you lead the life you want.

Feeling overwhelmed? Is anxiety, grief, or stress taking over? I'm here to help. I offer therapy for adults, kids, and families that's strengths-based, collaborative, and solution-focused. We'll create positive momentum from our first meeting. Building on the strengths you or your child already have, I’ll offer tools and strategies to use when challenging situations arise. You'll gain a new perspective, a sense of hope, and practical strategies to use during the week.

As a therapist for over thirty years, the focus of my work is helping people to create and sustain healthy relationships, and to learn how to thrive in their lives. I listen carefully to the nuances of what you say and don't say, and help you to become more aware of your unconscious beliefs and the energy that you hold in your body that may be an obstacle to your creating the life and relationships that you yearn for. Together, we take the journey of understanding and resolving what is in your way, so that you can discover new pathways to live your life with more joy, ease and connection.

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.

Therapy with me involves working with the body as much as the mind. This can be challenging for some, but leads to long-term resolution and healing in a more complete, organic nature. Through Somatic Experiencing (SE), I have been trained to work with various forms of trauma (developmental, event specific, chronic/long-term) and the way in which our survival energy becomes trapped in our bodies. We embody our lived experience.

My approach balances compassion with being direct. My clients experience care, acceptance and belonging, while also feeling challenged the right amount to grow, change and decrease suffering. I offer empathy while actively engaging my clients by setting weekly treatment goals, building coping tools/resources, and providing skills/knowledge to build self-awareness and integration. We are deeply influenced by our cultural identity and heritage. I am committed to the values of respecting and celebrating diversity, and supporting social/political policies of equal rights and opportunities.

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.

Is your child exhibiting emotional and/or behavioral problems? Are you having problems with your relationships or at work? Are you feeling overwhelmed with anxiety or struggling with depression? I can help. In the safety of a caring and collaborative relationship, we will work on understanding how difficult life patterns are no longer serving you. My role is to meet my clients where they are and help guide them toward making lasting positive changes. I provide both short-term and long-term therapy. Call for a free consultation today!

Do you long for a deeper sense of peace, wholeness and connection to life? Do repetitive patterns prevent you from having a fulfilling life and satisfying relationships? Any issue or symptom, such as addiction, depression or anxiety, or an underlying sense of disconnection, fear or doubt, is a message from your unconscious that something inside Is out of alignment. We will collaboratively explore your experiences and their meaning to help you connect to yourself and life in a fuller and more satisfying way.