Male Therapists in San Rafael, CA

I think therapy is a collaborative process that is unique to each individual. My goal is to support each of my clients in the way that they need me to. Sometimes this means teaching tools and techniques, sometimes this means exploring painful memories. Having honest conversations is foundational to the work we do. Honest doesn't always mean serious. It can involve humor and jokes, as long as it's real and genuine. I believe I work well with those who are willing to identify small steps and move forward despite how uncomfortable it is, in order to find peace.

My approach is fundamentally grounded in curiosity. When we turn towards our experience of the world we can understand how we relate to it and leverage this toward meaningful change. I find that creating an affirming, open space is crucial to this process. This space can allow us to hold life's complexities and even it's contradiction as a part of the whole of who we are. In building insight to understand ourselves we find a greater sense of agency that we can use to live in our world rather than just trying to cope with it.

My work focuses on those who are attempting to navigate through serious psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety, trauma, substance abuse or living in a household with someone who struggles with substance abuse or addiction. I help teens, stuck young adults, and stressed families navigate the perilous journey to find serenity and sanity in their daily lives. Throughout my decade and a half of experience, I have learned that effective treatment starts with dignity and authenticity. These factors lay the foundation for the most important aspects of successful therapy: safety, honesty, and courageous vulnerability.

I can help if you are struggling with: anxiety, depression or other mood issues; aging or life-threatening illness; or relationship difficulties; or the consequences of living with serious mental disorders. I help people affected by loss including people dealing with grief, facing death, or serious illness, but if you think of your own situation you might realize that loss is playing a role in your search for a therapist. I also work with people who aren't deeply troubled, but are searching for growth in their work, relationships, or who are feeling the absence of a spiritual center in their lives.

Jungian/Psychodynamic, Intersubjective "Depth" psychotherapy. Adults & Individuals. Cancer Coaching (see website). Approach informed by the work of C.G. Jung and those focusing on the workings of the unconscious "mind," that often ends up pulling one's strings, just outside of one's conscious awareness. It isn't often one's conscious "thinking" that is at the root of one's issues, but the "unconscious" processes that become stuck and unable to move on. Helping to address these processes is at the core of my work.

I seek to provide a thoughtful and reflective setting where clients develop greater understanding of their problems and limitations through honest exploration of themselves, and to bolster strengths/foster growth. I provide a friendly and open atmosphere to invite sharing of whatever thought or feeling that comes up so that they can be explored, analyzed and ultimately changed if you want. I work in a collaborative way and do not necessarily see my role as an advice giver, but as a thoughtful companion in helping you find your own solutions and understanding. I use a flexible blend of clinical techniques and theories.

In 50 years of clinical practice I have come to think of what I do as a unique form of education. Psychotherapists "teach" not so much by telling people what to do (although good advice can be useful), but by helping clients to find the strength within themselves, and the needed support from those around them, to address the difficulties in their current lives in new and more effective ways. A therapeutic environment enables clients to develop a new way of understanding their life experiences that promotes higher self-esteem, increased capacity for intimacy, and greater effectiveness in work.

I can help you feel good again in your life. You may have tried therapy before or talking with friends and family. But the real, tangible changes that you want haven't happened. I can help you create meaningful, lasting change by guiding you through experiential therapy that reformulates you in body, mind, soul and spirit. I specialize in working with: Pre-teens, teens and young adults; Families and Parenting- including acting out behaviors, conflicts with teens, discipline, substance abuse, etc.; Men's issues- including relationships, connecting with or managing emotions, career issues and life transitions

Through authenticity and a wide range of clinical experience, I have cultivated a unique therapeutic style that has helped many of my clients to heal and thrive. It is my mission to create a private practice accessible to everyone in our community where clients feel safe to open up, take risks, be vulnerable, explore themselves, and grow. I've worked with individuals, families, and couples from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds and found that with an open heart, a sincere desire to connect, and clinical integrity, I can affect real change in my clients' lives.

I’m an experienced, active therapist, integrating techniques from models such as Internal Family Systems & cognitive-behavioral therapy in a trauma-informed approach to our work. I combine your goals for therapy, an understanding of your history and strengths, and my experience to develop, in collaboration with you, a customized plan for our work that is attuned to your uniqueness. I bring diverse professional & life experience, a sensitivity to culture & all other components of your identity, and an array of tools that you can use to find the growth, solutions, well-being, or healing you seek.

I focus on relationships - and I don't just mean with significant others. What is your relationship with your anxiety or depression? What is your relationship with your trauma, your past? What is your relationship with your thoughts on a daily basis? And how does it all affect how you relate to others? I believe that I can help to untangle the mess and leave you with a deeper understanding of your self or your situation.

I am a strong believer in taking an active approach to feeling better. Having better control over your mood can often seem hopeless, but you can make things better. Achieving a healthier approach to the way you think, make decisions, and relate to others can help clear a path towards a new direction in your life.

You are not broken. It is human to feel loss, sadness, anger, fear, or unworthiness. Recent advances in neuroscience can help us understand why we feel stuck, sad, stressed, scared or alone. When we begin to understand the implicit/unconscious feelings/beliefs that automatically run inside of us we begin a journey that can lead to more awareness, and therefore to more choice in our lives. The hardest part of this journey is the first step; to make your growth a priority enough to tolerate the discomfort of facing what isn't working.

Because childhood and adolescence are such fragile stages of life, treating emotional and behavioral problems quickly and efficiently is essential. I join forces with you to resolve your children’s problems through expert assessment and carefully designed treatment plans. I begin this process by offering you a free personal consultation by phone to discuss your concerns and possible evaluations/interventions.

It’s no secret. Many boys hate the idea of therapy or even just talking about their feelings. I’ve been working almost exclusively with boys (ages 5-18) and their families for over 15 years. If your son and family feel overwhelmed or distant from each other, I take a fresh look at your family’s unique strengths and build on these to work through conflict, reconnect, and re-establish joy as a daily practice. My work is driven by the latest research in neurobiology.

It is my mission to provide high-quality psychotherapy to my clients by assisting them in how they manage and cope with the stress and anxieties in life. The way we perceive a problem greatly affects how we deal (or don't deal) with that problem. Using proven evidence-based interventions and building on insight and self-awareness, we can move the mountains in our minds to see a clearer picture of ourselves and the world around us – improving our ability to cope, our self-esteem, and the quality of our personal life relationships.

Even the richest of lives lived will bring with it many challenges and emotional pain. Unfortunately, it's often natural that we add to that suffering through worries and rumination, obsessive problem-solving, and a fixation on our shame, fears, and doubt. Our work together can help you make sense of this struggle, break free of unhelpful patterns of thinking, and facilitate more conscious and deliberate ways of interpreting and responding to your world. Let's sort out what's important to you and what's getting in the way, explore how and where you'd like to invest your energy, and take control of your emotional wellness.

I have worked more than 30 years w individuals & families with serious psychological and relational problems including the mood, behavior and substance problems that tear families apart. I help individuals and families navigate the perilous course of finding solutions while we work to improve serenity and sanity for all. Individual work is relational w/psychodynamic and a Real World approach. I have developed the “Stress-Induced Impaired Coping" model for family system distress and recovery. See my 2019 book: “Freedom From Family Dysfunction: A Guide for Families Battling Addiction or Mental Illness.” http://bit.ly/FreedomFamHC

Choosing to start psychotherapy can appear daunting, but will offer an opportunity and unique space for change, healing and growth. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have well over a decade of experience in supporting the therapeutic goals and emotional needs of my clients. My approach to therapy blends evidence based practices, my sense of curiosity, humor, as well as a person centered approach. I will work with you to develop therapeutic goals that support your growth, healing, and change. I provide a direct, warm, and humanistic approach to help you in reaching your goals.