Transgender Therapists in Oakland, CA

You look around, the common culture doesn't reflect your ethnicity, gender expression, ability, or sexual orientation. You don't fit into a neat little box. The stress of not fitting in, or having to explain or feel guilty for who you are has taken over. Is this how it's gonna be for the rest of my life? - you wonder...and it makes you tired. My clients come to me to overcome doubt, build confidence. I use techniques to help them slow down and listen to their inner voice so it's so loud and clear that anxiety has no room to stay.

Are you wanting to feel better once and for all? Maybe you can't move on from the past or you're worried about your future. If anxiety, panic, or even depression is stealing your joy, I get it. If traditional talk therapy hasn't helped you feel better, it's time to try a new approach to heal at the source of your pain. For 12 years I have refined my approach through professional training and experience in Relational-gestalt therapy and Brainspotting (derived from EMDR) while centering social justice and trauma-informed care.

Do you feel stuck in the same loops, repeating old patterns, and self-defeating behaviors? Through a mindfulness-based, somatic, and trauma-sensitive approach, I support you to break these cycles, let go of limiting beliefs and be free to live the life you want. I specialize in supporting individuals who struggle with issues related to anxiety, perfectionism, low self-esteem and depression. My style is warm, authentic and direct - I'm here to help you feel more grounded and self-assured so that you can better navigate relationships, life transitions, and daily stressors.

Are you experiencing a loss, going through a life transition, feeling the impact of everyday stress, or just needing a space for someone to hold your feelings? Or are you an adolescent or young adult who needs the support of another caring adult, or an adult experiencing a life stressor or a pattern that you cannot seem to break? Do you want to be able to share (unedited) your experience with someone who will help you navigate through it? I am a Certified Grief Counseling Specialist and EMDR trained by the EMDR Institute.

Taking the necessary steps towards mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being is not an easy task, and does not have to be done alone. My commitment is assisting and supporting you in finding the unique tool you need to move towards long term healing. My focus is on mind, body and spirit as we work together. I respect the unique and intricate experiences and identities you bring into the therapeutic relationship.

I believe that our minds and hearts, like our bodies, possess an innate wisdom and ability to heal, given the right environment and structure. Sometimes we get stuck in old patterns and beliefs that helped us in the circumstances we learned them in, but need to be updated in order to allow us to fully embody our best, most authentic and empowered selves. Therapy can assist us in learning more about what automatic programs our system is running, and give us the tools to make these changes.

For the past 35 years, I have supported people navigating anxiety, depression, addictions and overwhelm to rediscover their aliveness, and the gifts that can come from even the most difficult experiences. As a highly interactive and warm person, I focus on the quality of our therapeutic relationship, as I believe it is pivotal to the healing process. Deeply intuitive and strength based by nature, I help you recognize your innate wisdom to creatively reshape your life. In the supportive environment of therapy, you are invited to unfold at your very own pace while facing challenges and perceived limitations.

For 20 years, I have provided safe, affirming trauma therapy for adults, couples, and groups. I also have the experience and education to provide therapy for many other relationship, mood, and dissociative concerns. I am straightforward, collaborative, and endeavor to be empowering. My therapy style is relational and includes a focus on emotion & body connection and your whole picture of health. We will work together to create peace and fullness in your life.

Everyone deserves the freedom to define themselves and access services that genuinely meet their needs. I am here to support you process through past experiences that are keeping you stuck and build your confidence to create the life you want. As a Black, Queer, and Genderqueer therapist, I offer individual and group therapy services that honor and center Black and other POC communities. I am currently offering bi-weekly, in-person appointments.

Do you feel misunderstood and overwhelmed? Is people pleasing or code switching exhausting? Do you feel disconnected from YOU? Are you searching for a space that is safe to be YOU? Are you hyperaware of your melanin in white spaces? Are you searching for a therapist that understands the minority experience? I recognize the struggles of living while Black. And I champion disrupting White Supremacy and systemic racism. I am a firm believer in order to dismantle racism and White Supremacy we must individually address our trauma, unlearn internalized racism and develop skills to elevate our thinking and regulate our emotions.

Many of us feel alone with our suffering and haven't been taught how to address it. I find that a compassionate focus on the parts of us that suffer brings meaningful change. At some point we eventually discover we've developed behaviors that were once adaptive or self-protective but no longer serve us or that we are in relationships that bring emotional strain. I use a Jungian and relational approach, with the attempt to stay focused on emotions in the present while uncovering and integrating unconscious elements.

My framework as a psychotherapist is inspired by black feminist sci-fi writer, Octavia E. Butler who saw the possibility of many more worlds than just our own. I believe that transformative internal healing is critical to envisioning and building these worlds without the presence of imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism and cishet-patriarchy. The tools I use to support the exploration of individual, interpersonal and intergenerational trauma are shaped by abolition that rejects punitive and scarcity mindsets and disability justice which strives to value every body.

If you're looking for a therapist, there's a good chance you're having a hard time or want to make changes in your life. That's where I can help. I provide a supportive environment for you to work through the thoughts, emotions and beliefs that may not be serving you. We will develop a plan that fits your lifestyle and puts you on a path toward the fulfillment, ease and well-being you deserve. I will accept you as you are, and help you become who you want to be.

Dear potential Client, Congratulations on making it this far! Choosing therapy is difficult and even more is taking steps to actually meet with a therapist. I have made this journey myself and found lots of reasons to procrastinate making "the call". If you choose to move forward and contact me, I am happy to consult with you about what you're looking for and how I can support you.

I specialize in a various therapy practices with a collaborative approach for young adults and adolescents (aged 16 - 30) who want to understand and change feelings of anxiety, depression, self criticism, and relationship difficulties. My aim is to listen to your concerns and support you as a whole and authentic person.

Are you looking for a place where you can show up as your whole self? Do you want the strength to navigate life's challenges? Are you seeking a culturally sensitive therapist with expertise in trauma, resilience, and identity? You've come to the right place. Join me to re-discover your inner strengths, build resilience from trauma, and become empowered through solution-focused, skills-building, and body-based healing. Services available to those residing in California, New York, Texas, and Washington.

Reaching out for support may feel difficult but you are totally worth it. I can provide you with a place where you will be listened to with compassion and understanding. Through our work together I will bring gentle curiosity to the areas of your life you want to explore. This can look like nurturing any tender wounds, fostering belonging for abandoned parts of yourself, embracing acceptance for things you can't change, and building skills needed for constructing the life and relationships you desire.

Therapy can help you overcome difficulties, live creatively, and feel more alive. Many people become stuck in ways of thinking and living that no longer serve them. Through a caring therapeutic relationship, you can develop the courage to live in a meaningful and fulfilling way. Over the past 25 years, I have helped people with a wide variety of issues work through significant challenges, freeing them to make better choices. In addition to my clinical work, I teach and supervise at various training programs throughout the Bay Area, and was the Director of Counseling at California College of the Arts for 15 years.

I work with queer and trans people, and welcome clients who do not fit those identities. I am particularly interested in working with—but not limited to—relationship dynamics, gender and sexuality exploration, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, sensitivity, neurodivergence, inner child work, fat justice / liberation, and connecting to self-expression. I invite clients who are sitting with the questions of… How can I live fully as myself? What's happening in my relationship to self? To others? To the world? I value supporting you in your authentic expression beyond constructs and rules, and I work very experientially.