Though I have a generalist practice, I have specialized training in the areas of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, Trauma Treatment, Chronic Insomnia, Life Coaching and LGBTQ+ Support.
Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Psychedelics are enjoying a renaissance, and for good reason: an ever-proliferating number of rigorous scientific studies are showing their tremendous potential to treat trauma and promote insight, creativity, empathy, and wellness.
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Ketamine has been demonstrated through numerous rigorous trials over decades to be a powerful, safe and rapid treatment for depression, and is widely anecdotally known for its utility in promoting insight and wellness. One form of Intra-nasal ketamine is FDA-approved for the treatment of depression, though the generic form of the medicine we would use in psychotherapy is currently considered an "off-label" treatment. Many studies have demonstrated that ketamine is a uniquely effective treatment for PTSD, social anxiety, substance abuse and dependence, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and suicidality. I work with a medical professional who can prescribe the medicine to you, which you would then take in my presence in a therapeutic setting. Typically this work involves 1-3 preparatory psychotherapy sessions, one 3-4 hour dosing session, and 1-2 integration sessions. I partner with a medical specialist who conducts a health screening and writes the prescription. Please call or email to learn more.
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Preparation & Integration Services
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Have you recently had—or are you interested in pursuing—psychedelic experiences, but are unsure how to prepare for and/or make sense of them? In my practice I draw upon my extensive training and research to offer a safe space in which you can unpack these experiences and integrate the insights into your daily life. It can often be challenging to "operationalize" such profound and short-lived exposure to the depth of your psyche and to spiritual realms, having a partner(s) in the process can help support you making the most of your journeys.
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Integration work involves exploring the multiple layers of meaning within a psychedelic experience, as well as opportunities to give expression to its ineffable aspects (through creativity, images, music, physicality/somatics, meditation, and more). It is an opportunity to weave the experience into the narrative of your life in an ongoing way, so that you may continue to benefit from and be guided by it.
Trauma Treatment
When horrible or overwhelming things happen to us, whether incidentally or over a long period of time, they can leave profound, living scars that interfere with our ability to be fully alive in the present.
During traumatic events, our nervous system responds in ways that protects us from fully experiencing what's happening. This is a useful coping mechanism for surviving unbearable stress, but it can also lead to unconscious, long-lasting shifts in how we experience and engage with the world and ourselves. Traumatic conditioning plays out in myriad ways in the present.
You may find yourself overly agitated or inexplicably depressed; you may react strangely to certain sights, sounds or smells; you may suffer from nightmares or sleep trouble; you may have unpleasant flashbacks or intrusive thoughts; you may find yourself getting highly emotionally reactive or "shutting down" in relationships. You may feel numb, or you might be anxious most of the time. These are just some of the symptoms that can emerge after a traumatic event.
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How I help: I treat trauma through two highly effective, biology-based methods:
(1) Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a simple, effective, rapid, evidenced-based therapy that can help you work through highly distressing memories and triggers for a more adaptive and fulfilling life. Often our disturbing inner experiences in the present are connected either to a specific, highly-charged upsetting event, or to a chain of memories that trace back to our early life. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation and guided conscious processing to help activate your brain's innate healing capacity and repair psychological wounds. To read more about EMDR and whether it would be right for you, click here.
(2) Parts Work helps you notice, investigate and communicate with different aspects of yourself that may have been injured during the trauma. While we all have an adult "self" that functions in day-to-day life, trauma survivors also have many other hidden "selves" or "parts" that can react to, influence or even hijack conscious experience. Does this sound familiar? Working with these "parts" often involves exploring your body as a place to gain wisdom and insight, experience safety and wholeness, develop resources, and fully process unresolved traumatic events. Parts work and somatic techniques can help you learn how to regulate your nervous system and release the trauma using your body's natural mechanisms.
LGBTQ+ Community Support
If your sexual identity, sexual orientation or gender identity does not conform to mainstream societal expectations, the world can often feel unsafe. The mental health profession has a shameful history of pathologizing and discriminating against members of this community. It is important that, when you begin the process of seeing a therapist, you feel 100% safe as an LGBTQ person.
Many therapists claim to "specialize" in LGBTQ issues simply because they are open-minded. While well-intentioned, most of these therapists are not equipped with the knowledge or skill to work with the complex and layered issues faced by our community. I have walked the path of being a queer person, and I also have specialized training and extensive experience working with the wonderfully diverse LGBTQ community. This training has focused on issues specific to folks who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Questioning, Genderqueer, Gender fluid, Transgender, Transsexual, Cross-dressing,, Sexually Fluid, Polyamorous, HIV+, Gay Adoptive Parents, and part of Step & Blended Families.
I also work with family members of the LGBTQ+ community who are having difficulties accepting a loved one who has recently come out.
Therapy for Gay Men
Are you a gay man searching for an intimate relationship? Do you feel unsatisfied by what the gay community has to offer? Do you feel lonely but aren't sure why? Are you wondering how to cultivate deeper connections with other gay men?
If you identify as a gay man, you are living in a mainstream culture that ignores or rejects the unique gifts of your identity. Gay male culture can also, in its own way, be harsh, superficial, or unaccepting. You may long for supportive community, intimate connection with others, and a more joyful way of life - but aren't sure where to begin looking for it. My graduate research focused on the difficulties many gay men face in finding stable, intimate, lasting relationships, and how psychotherapy can help with this. How I help:
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I help you develop a healthier relationship to sex.
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I help you negotiate with you inner critic.
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I help you feel calmer and more confident in social situations.
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I help you develop stronger connection to others.
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I help you find your own gay community.
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I help you work through fears of intimacy.
Coaching & Therapy for Chronic Insomnia
Are you experiencing chronic sleeplessness that is impacting your mood, energy, work performance, and relationships? Do you feel you have tried everything but can't seem to fix the problem? Do you worry your brain is broken beyond repair?
Chronic insomnia is an invisible disability that can can have enormous costs to well-being in every dimension of life. It can rob you of your vitality, erode your trust in your body, shape the trajectory of your life and even become part of your identity. And most people have no idea what it's like to live through it, so it can feel tremendously isolating as well.
Sleep (and difficulty sleeping) is one of the most poorly-understood biological processes in the medical field; consequently, the prevailing wisdom about how to address sleep problems ranges from dismissive statements from doctors ("It's just chronic stress", "You're probably sleeping better than you think you are") to pill-pushing to rigid sleep hygiene protocols to an endless expanse of "natural remedies".
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As someone who has survived a ten year-long journey with insomnia and tried all of the major treatments, I have an intimate understanding of the biology and psychology of sleep and how that can vary among individuals. From everything I have experienced and studied, I have found two major treatment approaches that are most effective, but choosing the right one can make all the difference. The choice hinges on the nature of your insomnia and your emotional relationship to it.
I offer a free consultation to give you my assessment of the problem, and proposed treatment plan.
Life Coaching
In addition to psychotherapy, I offer life coaching in-person to Bay Area residents and online nationally. The focus of coaching is development and implementation of strategies to reach your identified goals in the realms of performance and personal satisfaction. Coaching may address personal projects, work-life balance, job performance and satisfaction, relationship to self and relationships with others. Coaching utilizes personal strategic planning, values clarification, brainstorming, motivational counseling, the science of habit formation and behavior change, and positive psychology.
While there are some similarities between coaching and psychotherapy, they are very different activities and it is important that you understand the distinctions between them. The major differences are in the goals, focus, and level of professional responsibility. Generally, life coaching is appropriate for people who have already done some therapeutic work and want to shift their focus from healing to thriving.
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Unlike psychotherapy, life coaching is available also to those residing outside of California.