Brainspotting (BSP)

Marissa Whorton

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Are you experiencing critical thoughts or feeling that you’re not good enough? Have these thoughts started to cloud your sense of who you are and weigh you down? 

I am here to help you put these painful thoughts to rest. 

The burdens of tough experiences pile up and cause both an emotional and a physical toll. You may have noticed that not only are you feeling down, but your work and relationships are also suffering. When our feelings have not been sorted out, it is common to feel the weight of them and to feel stuck. 

I view myself as a guide to walk side-by-side with you, supporting you with getting to know the parts of yourself that at times lead you to spiral as well as the parts of yourself that help you to thrive. Confidence, courage and connection are a few of the natural results of working mindfully to manage both what is pleasant and unpleasant. 

As you learn to experience calm, it helps with resilience and continued self-discovery so that you enter into a sustainable relationship with yourself and those around you. 

When you feel good on the inside, you radiate on the outside.

Click on the “web site” button to schedule a consultation so that we can learn more about one another. I’m excited to hear about the goals you have for yourself and explore ways I can help you to accomplish them.

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Desiree Botelho

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Do you want things to be different, but struggle with finding the motivation to make changes? Do you have a support system that wants to support you, but they are struggling to understand what you need?

Wherever you are in your journey, together, we can explore what is contributing to feeling stuck and empower you to make the life changes you desire. My hope is to create a therapeutic relationship, in which clients feel seen, heard, and valued. I will provide a safe space where you can reflect on who you are, who you want to be, and how you show up in your relationships with others. 

My therapeutic lens is client-centered,  trauma-informed, and strength-based. I have experience working in school based mental health and community mental health. Meeting clients where they are is a value I hold with high regard. My focuses include trauma, depression, anxiety, life transitions, exploring family systems and grief.

Let’s work towards increasing your confidence in making decisions to move toward the life you want-free of guilt and shame. Schedule an appointment today to begin moving forward in making the changes you would like to see in your life.

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BIPOC Adult Group Therapy

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Join AMJ and Christhmus Presence for pay-as-you-may virtual group therapy. Sessions start 8/24. Late enrollment closes 9/7.

Sessions are 90 minutes and will be held once a week over the course of 10 weeks. Group capacity is 8-10 people.

About AMJ (they/them/their):

AMJ, ASW is a queer, disabled, nonbinary Black femme descendant of Africans who were enslaved in the Southeastern United States and ultimately settled in Low Country/Gullah Geechee/Lower Creek/Yamasee lands (Savannah, GA). They are a “coachy therapist”, focused on helping (QT)BIPOC blend ancestral healing traditions with therapeutic approaches such as Brainspotting, healing-centered (aka trauma-informed) therapy, expressive arts, aromatherapy, and problem-solving. AMJ resides in San Pedro and takes care of self via gardening, music, food, and their adorably snarky doggo named Dilla.

About Christhmus (pronoun at your pleasure):

Christhmus Presence (Chris Chu) will be facilitating all groups above, and is a 3.5-generation Muwekma Ohlone (San Francisco) land-settler, and Chinese-American Queer by Ancestors’ way of Guangdong, China. Pillars that guide them are liberation psychology, narrative psychology, somatic psychology, trauma-informed therapy, spirituality, and expressive arts. Tools held in support of self-resourcing, clarity, and ancestral connectivity include meditation, Tapping, and Brainspotting. They enjoy plants, creative expression, the power of community, and being in water.
Registered Associate MFT #125037 through The Center for Mindful Psychotherapy, supervised by Shawana Booker LCSW #29165

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Eileen Drapiza-Dornan

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I am Asian American — a child of Filipino immigrants, and I am especially interested in supporting the mental health needs of Asian Americans and other people of color.

Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, I worked in publishing, as an editor on several technology magazines in San Francisco and London, and later I trained journalists and other professionals in the use of technology. I know what it is to hold down a corporate position, balancing the pressure of work with a life beyond my job. I also know what it is to be POC in a predominantly white culture.

After 20 some years in publishing, my true calling found me and I retrained to become a psychotherapist. In 2006 I earned my M.A. in Counseling Psychology.  I worked as a counselor in East Bay middle schools and community counseling centers, co-facilitated groups for Survivors of Suicide at Crisis Support Services of Alameda County, trained in Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST) to work with youth in the Juvenile Justice System. Eventually I launched my own private practice serving people of color, with particular interest in working with 1.5 and 2nd generation AAPIs around issues related to historical, immigration, or trans racial and trans cultural adoption trauma, in addition to appreciating the complexities of people who identify with betweenness or straddling cultural norms.

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Jennie Runde

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I am a mixed (Black biracial) clinician working with mixed and multi-heritage folks in my private practice. I am trained as an expressive arts therapist, and use expressive arts including art, creative writing, and movement to help folks improve communication, connection, and contentment.

I believe that all of us, including and especially those of us that do not often see ourselves reflected in the world around us, have to use our creativity to create the world as we need it to be, as opposed to how it is.

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Perry Clark

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The question is: What is tangling you up? Are you tangled up in anxiety, sadness,& doubt? Are you held by insecurity &uncertainty? Are you slowed by feeling disconnected & getting caught unaware? Have the paths become overgrown and you can’t find or are questioning the sign before you? Growth is about using and building new skills, all of which take time, and nurturing. Growth is about finding solutions that apply to the situation and not just the general world. Both of these are elements of the hope. Hope is something we need to move us through the day, and it does require updating.

We don’t live in isolation, which means it’s very easy to get tangled up and mired in things, situations, people, and feelings that keep us from growing. We need to understand them, so we can cut them away or down, to allow you to move forward with new skills and hope for living.

We don’t learn to tie our shoes or hold a fork instantly. It takes care from those around us to do so, and it isn’t easy. It’s a skill I hope we can find together.

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