Therapists in Castro, San Francisco, CA

Thank you for taking this important step on your journey of healing and well being. My name is Stephen Gundlach. I am a psychotherapist working with individuals, couples, and teens. I see therapy as a process in which the therapist walks alongside you as a mirror and a guide to your own unfolding understanding of yourself and your unique story. In this process inner strengths and resiliencies are identified, habitual patterns that are no longer helping come to light, and desired growth and change become possible.

Are you struggling with anxiety, depression, feeling unmotivated, burnt-out, or struggling with your intimate relationships? I work with clients wanting to change habitual and painful patterns such as self-criticism, guilt or shame, poor boundaries, difficulties in romantic relationships, issues with communication, or struggle to maintain a healthy work/life balance. I help you to see your personal challenges with greater clarity and compassion.

Looking for a queer therapist? I specialize in working with queer, non-binary, transgender, gay, & pansexual adults & adolescents in California. I am most passionate about providing advocacy for cultural and economic diversity in our community and serving LGBTQ+ people experiencing depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Engaging in therapy is more important than ever especially in response to our current political climate and recent backlash of conservative values showing incredible disrespect toward the LGBTQ+ community and throwing extra stress at immigrant populations and POC.

Life can feel impossible to avoid struggling and we often don't feel we have the skills to cope successfully through. Unfortunately, sometimes we don't have all the resources we need for a given situation. Parts of us take on desperate roles trying to help us to survive. This might look like anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction, and relationship/family issues. I aim to help you process unresolved issues and feelings and find solutions.

Are you in a bad place, fearful of losing an important relationship, fearful of being alone, needing help to regain your stability? Have you gotten overloaded by stress, fly to anger easily, or feel directionless and misunderstood? Are you hard on yourself and others? Are you having a tough time in an important relationship? Does it seem your partner does not understand you, or that you’re at risk of losing the good times and ease of trust that used to be there?

Individuals, entering into therapy, usually describe symptoms such as anxiety, depression or difficulty forming romantic relationships. Others may mention conflicts with their spouses or co-workers. They want to feel safe and respected as, little by little, they bring up topics and express painful feelings, they never before revealed. Some crave understanding and explanations for why they feel as they do. Others want to feel their experience is comprehensible.

I provide individual therapy for adults and adolescents, and relationship therapy for adult couples, polycules, and friends/chosen family. I work with clients to navigate issues related to relationships including polyamory/consensual non-monogamy, anxiety, trauma and personal development. I work with clients who claim a variety of social identities. I hold space for LGBTQIA+ clients who struggle disproportionately due to cultural and societal challenges in their personal and professional lives, and I am deeply committed to working with this population to provide opportunities for greater healing and growth.

A lot of us have a hard time asking for help. Fear, shame, or needing to be self-sufficient are feelings that can get in the way of recognizing when we need help--and reaching out and asking for it. My approach to therapy creates a safe place where sensitive, painful or scary feelings can be openly explored without judgment. We form a partnership to figure out what is going on and how to move forward. I'm actively engaged in our work--it's a partnership, after all--to help you overcome problem behaviors and develop better ways of coping.

I help individuals, couples, & polycules with issues across all types of platonic & intimate relationships – from friends, family, colleagues, communities, to lovers including intimacy and sex. I can help you develop your relational, charismatic, emotional, dating, & erotic skills for the best professional opportunities, relationships, intimacy, and sex possible. I can help you embrace your authentic desires, make dating fun, flirt flawlessly, overcome shame, re/ignite the spark, build confidence, connect to communities, overcome porn addiction, manage open relationships, and go for what you want & stop what you don't.

Are you struggling with work, relational, and life stressors that have overwhelmed you and you are unsure what to do next? You're trying to open the next chapter in your life, but your past traumas and anxiety stop you. This is where I come in and help guide you in making YOUR right decision. I will help you through your journey in becoming worry-free and assist you in processing unresolved feelings and learning healthy coping skills for emotional distress

You are unique. My approach is from a holistic lens through relational humanistic psychodynamics. I hope that we build a foundational relationship that is based on trust and acceptance. I will walk with you through your journey of healing and self-discovery. I utilize my self-reflective journey through humanistic transpersonal psychodynamics, meeting you where you are in the here and now, offering acceptance and understanding.

As a licensed psychotherapist and certified hypnotherapist with over 20 + years of experience empowering women, my life’s purpose is to provide women a sanctuary. Whether easing anxiety, depression, grief, working through trauma or grappling with life’s hardest questions - I bring an open heart, deep compassion and proven therapy tools to ignite positive change. Having faced struggles myself, I have profound understanding for the issues my clients face on their journeys toward healing. My goal is to help women live their best lives.

I love to work with adults going through transitions, whether that's grieving or some other type of transition. Grief can be about different experiences from the death of a loved person or pet to the end of a relationship. I treat unaddressed grief from childhood as well. I also enjoy working with people coping with the changes of middle age and the challenge of "adulting" in their thirties. I have years of experience treating patients with depression or other mood disorders. In California, I do this via psychotherapy. For out of state clients, I do grief coaching.

If you are seeking real change in your life, I am here to help. I provide a relationship that facilitates your healing, growth and evolution. Whether you know it or not, you arrive with all the resources you need to heal and thrive deep within you. It's my job to help you access those resources. While working through your challenges, we find and activate your strengths. We tend your hurt places, build your resilience, and expand your capacity. I honor your individuality, tailoring my approach to meet you where you are now while helping you stretch toward where you're going.

Are you a man being troubled by conflict in relationships or dissatisfaction in work? Dark moods, sexual questions? Self-sabotaging ideas, or habits like substances or porn? Doubts or fears about yourself? Being an ally for the male soul under challenge: that is what my work is about.

Life can seem to throw us curve balls at times. Whether with work, parenting, or relationships, we can become off-balance. Therapy can help you find that balance. We all strive for peace and calm in our lives. However, life is constantly changing, and it can sometimes be overwhelming. I am here to help you navigate through these challenges in your life. With over 15 years of experience, I enjoy working with people of color struggling with anxiety, relationship issues, self-esteem, and life transitions.

People come to see me for a variety of reasons including: Relationship issues, stress and anxiety, depression and dissatisfaction with life, body image and eating issues, grief, transitions, and letting go, trauma recovery, identity, life purpose, and spiritual questions. I integrate mindfulness practice with psychotherapy to directly work with your thoughts, emotions, and habitual behavioral patterns for your optimal health and well being. Compassion, empathy, and presence define my relational approach.

Do you find yourself feeling anxious, depressed, angry, and overwhelmed? Do you continue to repeat the same patterns of being in unhealthy relationships, engaging in harmful behaviors that are not serving you in a good way, and continuously trying to find a way to numb the pain? I am a process-oriented and trauma-informed therapist who meets clients where they are at. I draw from the psychodynamic approach focusing on bringing the unconscious to the conscious to get to the root of the issue and explore defense mechanisms that have been adapted along the way.

Whether you are dealing with mood or anxiety difficulties that you have lived with for years, or facing a crisis as a result of an unexpected event, I will help you face this challenge and emerge stronger. For those seeking resolution of a specific problem or set of symptoms, or interpersonal and relationship difficulties, I take a fairly structured, goal-oriented approach. I also provide rehabilitation therapy to individuals recovering from concussion and complex medical problems. I work with you to minimize concussive symptoms and refer to appropriate rehabilitation services as needed. I assist with return to work or school.