Maria is a first-generation Mexican-American woman who has worked in the mental health field and with the geriatric population for over 10 years. She has provided grief counseling, transitional support through life changes with couples, families and groups of unrelated persons. We are all individuals who require different interventions for navigating our personal goals and challenges/changes in life. The process of creating individual plans based on a patient’s strengths and resources is a creative process that helps Maria find joy and excitement in the work that she does. She loves that her work allows patients to build their tool box for managing phases in their lives. In addition to being a psychotherapist, Maria is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS), Substance Use Disorder Rehabilitation Counselor (SUDRC) and Zumba Instructor.
Anger
Marissa Whorton
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.
Lyndsey Nelson
Lyndsey specializes in working with youth at school and in private sessions. She uses a strength-based modality, as well as play therapy and cognitive behavioral techniques and interventions. Lyndsey works with teens and children to increase their emotional regulation and social skills to cope with feelings of anxiety, balance the pressure to achieve at school, effectively communicate with their parents and thrive emotionally. Before founding Life Light Counseling, she had the pleasure of working with Beacon Wellness Team as a therapist to gifted teens and children, as well as many years providing counseling within our Public and Private Schools, Campbell Union School District and The Harker School. She received her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
When not in the office she enjoys time with her son and family. She loves the beach, museums, travel and dance.
Lyndsey is a licensed marriage and family therapist #113189.
Teen Empowerment Group
For teens who are survivors of violence, sexual abuse, neglect, bullying, school or community violence, parental substance abuse, who have witnessed violence in their home, or have experienced any other child maltreatment.
This group focuses on self-esteem building, healthy relationships, gaining a sense of community and skills for growth, and helping teens access their own strength and courage to claim a healthy and positive future.
Parents, the reality of teen trauma is painful and overwhelming. Figuring out how to begin the healing process can be confusing. You want to protect your teen and ensure their safety and happiness. When you see your child suffering, it hurts.
We understand, and we are here to help.
Any of this sound familiar in regards to your teen:
– Anxiety or worry
– Falling grades
– Persistent sadness, lack of energy, changes in sleep or appetite, withdrawing from normal activities, or feeling “down”
– Changes in self-care, such as paying less attention to hygiene, appearance, or fashion than they usually do
Our Teen Empowerment Group is hands down the best way to help your teen:
– Understanding of the symptoms of trauma to support self-regulation
– Develop greater understanding of themselves and their needs in a safe and supportive community so that they can set self-directed boundaries
– Experience mindfulness-based practices to induce and deepen relaxation
– Increase self-compassion in order to reduce self-criticism and self-blame
We are here to help your teen engage in the body and mind through arts based expression in order to heal and re-connect with joy and purpose.
NEXT Step? Email our office to schedule a brief phone chat with leaders Melissa or Megan. We would be delighted to answer any questions you have about the group. We look forward to hearing from you!
Expressive arts is an evidence based practice that provides practical tools for healing and emotional growth. Some art modalities we will use include; drawing, painting, collage, mixed media and digital art or photography. No experience or skill with art making is necessary to benefit from art therapy.
Kamaria Wells
Hello, I’m Kamaria, a third year art therapy graduate student, at Notre Dame de Namur University. I am looking for adults of Color who have experienced racialized trauma in their educational experiences to be part of a therapeutic arts healing group and study for 4 weeks (90 min on zoom).
My path to Art Therapy encompassed growth and discovery in the fields of education, social services, mental health, community organizing, vocational rehabilitation, political, and legal fields. During these varied experiences she was introduced to art making and discovered the therapeutic nature of art through personal process. The universality of Art Therapy is beautiful, every individual ranging from nonverbal with physical limitations to extremely able cognitively and physically, can benefit from it. With a BA in International Studies from UNC-Charlotte, Kamaria’s multi-cultural knowledge will enhance her ability to work with various communities and accommodate traditional healing needs. Kamaria looks forward to continuing to work in underserved communities and helping destigmatize therapy, as Art Therapy is the bridge that allows traditional talk therapy to be more accessible and less intimidating, especially for those often forgotten and omitted from history.
All Identity Adult Relational Growth Group
For accomplished adults who are ready to go from internal turmoil and suffering as the result of old wounds to thriving with internal safety and social confidence!
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to better understand your inner world and how to:
– slow down or completely stop being triggered & high jacked
– quiet the inner critic or inner perfectionist that sabotages your greatest efforts
– release yourself from the grip of stuck, stale and painful relationship patterns
This group uses Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a foundation for teaching about parts of your personality and exploring how they interact with each other. Group members will learn to recognize and identify those emotions, thoughts and reactions that create internal and external challenges throughout life. Sessions will include getting to know those parts of ourselves, and learning how to access the core qualities of a Self that is present within all of us.
With others, you will have an opportunity to:
– Work through discomfort and anxiety so that you can achieve the level of closeness and intimacy you desire
– Courageously connect with vulnerability and anger rather than engaging in avoidance and repression
– Experiment with expression of Self which will help you to increase assertiveness, self-confidence and calm
– Practice welcoming all of your parts while increasing presence, awareness and mindfulness
IFS is a powerful tool that can help you achieve greater well-being and balance by not only becoming more aware of these internal patterns, but by going toward them with curiosity and compassion to better understand and heal them.
Get to know your Self better, understand why you act the way you do, and develop a toolkit you can use to empower your sense of courage and creativity.
NEXT Step? Email our office to schedule a brief phone chat with Karla. We would be delighted to answer any questions you have about the group and support you with preparing for the learning and growing experience ahead.
Rory Valentine Diller
I believe in unlocking your innate ability to heal & evolve. Let’s build a safe, trusting, and meaningful relationship where you can unpack whatever you’re going through each week and get support. I’ll collaborate with you to find treatment approaches that best suit your individual needs. Let’s find you relief!
I work with all kinds of people, particularly folks who’ve dealt with trauma, childhood trauma, childhood abuse, domestic violence, narcissistic abuse, sexual trauma, addiction and alcohol abuse, neurodiversity, LGBTQ identity, self-harming behaviors, and anger issues. I am a Survivor myself and deeply “get” a lot of what my clients are working through.
6 UNIQUE Black-Indigenous-People-Of-Color (BIPOC) Telehealth Groups [times in description]
6 UNIQUE Black, Indigenous, and/or People-Of-Color (BIPOC) Online Therapy Groups in California Opening This Week
Calling In:
- Clients who may be served
- Those who can share this message to support their communities
- Those down to 1:1 or connect me to community folx to share this with
For Further Info / To RSVP or check on available space: https://tinyurl.com/FreeBIPOCGroupTherapies
Group Descriptions: 1 session/week, 90-minutes, 10 sessions, video chat, pay-what-you-may, available now
🏿 Black Adult Group – Tuesday 8:30-10 PM, 21+, 8-10 people, centering being Black and grown, covid, and community
🏾 Black Teen Group – ages 14-19, Tuesday 2-3:30PM, centering being a Black teen, covid, and community
🏽 Asian Pacific American (APA) Group – Tuesday 6:00-7:30 PM, ages 21+, 8-10 members, co-facilitated*, centering restorative justice, covid, and the APA experience
🏼 BIPOC 7th and 8th Grade Group – Thursday 2:00-3:30, 8-10 members, centering covid, restorative justice, and being a POC teen
🏿 BIPOC Adult Group – 8-10 members, 21+, centering covid, restorative justice, and being BIPOC
🏾 BIPOC Law Enforcement Group – 8-10 members, co-facilitated**, centering being BIPOC while working pandemic & protests
About Christhmus (pronoun them at your pleasure):
Christhmus Presence will be facilitating all groups above. They are a 3.5-generation Muwekma Ohlone (San Francisco) land-settler and Chinese-American Queer. Pillars that guide them are liberation psychology, narrative psychology, somatic psychology, 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. MFTI/PCCI supervised by Josie Valderrama, License# Psy27913.
*About Lai (pronouns she/her/hers):
Lai Chien is a 0-generation Hong Kong born cisgender Chinese-Vietnamese American by way of North Carolina, Georgia, and finally landing in the east bay of Oakland/Alameda.
She is a harm-reduction focused, strength-based, and change-oriented therapist utilizing narrative psychology, motivational interviewing and DBT concepts such as radical acceptance to empower growth and promote well-being. She can be found tending to her aquariums, cooking and/or eating, days at the beach and planning the next camping trip.
AMFT #98435 supervised by Sandra Stultz, LMFT #43047 of Sankofa Holistic Counseling Services www.sankofatherapy.com
**About Annie (she/her pronouns):
Annie Chen is a marriage family therapist who has been helping people have better relationships with one another and themselves for over ten years. She is the author of a book on attachment theory and uses tools that are informed by neuroscience, trauma, and somatic psychology. She worked as a therapist for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Youth and Family Services Bureau from 2011-2014 and is interested in supporting those at the forefront of reforming law enforcement culture for the benefit of all. CA License# 80025