Stress

Marissa Whorton

January 13, 2022 by 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.

Stephanie McWoods

August 17, 2021 by Stephanie McWoods

As a therapist I aim to provide a space that is beautiful, safe, and healing for folks who have few said spaces in the world. I aim to challenge the status quo, -isms, and White Supremacy. I have spent many of my years living and surviving in these oppressive systems that were not created for me or my people. In learning to adapt and “succeed” in these systems that do not appreciate nor nourish my spirit I have transitioned to unapologetically making space for myself and thriving. I found that in being unapologetically me I have no limits to my abilities, dreams, or connections. In my work with clients, I invite them to take the leap of letting go of socially constructed views of how they should be or exist and rather settle into what they desire and what works for them. I believe life can be easy and liberating when we step outside of these oppressive and limiting systems.

I encourage clients to live their best lives unapologetically and ruthlessly. I support clients with addressing trauma, emotional hang-ups, anxiety, depression, as well as celebrating the journey to self-discovery and re-centering.

Since 2017, I have provided a number of specialized therapeutic services to those who identify as BIPOC, Queer, Gender Non Conforming, or Trans dealing with challenging life experiences. My client’s well-being is a priority, and I go above and beyond to support them through their obstacles.

I work with individuals, couples, families, groups, and organizations. I help to restore relational balance and authenticity. I provide a healing space that is welcoming to those who hold marginalized identities. My style is direct, collaborative, conversational and affirming. I use a decolonized, social justice oriented lens and focus on race-based trauma and historical trauma. I am also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy.

Virtual Meditation Group for Therapists

April 8, 2021 by Theresa Soltzberg

Mindfulness practice is essential for therapists, to hold space and provide body-based
attunement and presence for clients, and to provide ourselves with ongoing self-care.

This supportive group will include time for meditation as well as discussion and readings with topics such as self-care, personal meditation practice, mindfulness-based client support and approaches, and any other topics important to the group, and will provide:

-Connection with others
-Support of ongoing regular meditation
practice
-Discussion of mindfulness therapy-based
topics
-Short guided meditations
-A place for self-care in the midst of your
day
-A caring, nurturing community!

Lyndsey Nelson

April 8, 2021 by 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.

Jennie Beuhler

January 19, 2021 by Jennie Beuhler

I came to psychotherapy a bit later in life, both personally and professionally. My experience of participating in my own psychotherapy led me to fully believe in the transformational power of this work. Understanding my need to explore my internal world had a significant impact on me as an educator. Having worked for 13+ years as a teacher, I came to see the need for integrating social emotional learning into the curriculum for my students. Through my personal exploration and facilitation of mindfulness and emotional exploration in the classroom I felt more engaged, energized and connected to both myself and the world than I had ever been before. It became clear to me that this was my calling. I took the courageous leap of changing careers and have not looked back.

While my approach is based in Gestalt and Existential Therapies, I have studied many other modalities and draw from a variety of approaches such as attachment theory, psychodynamics, and transpersonal psychology to name a few. I believe that my clients are dynamic beings and therefore there is no one size fits all approach to therapy. I work intuitively, drawing from my toolbox the technique that best fits the need of my client in the present moment. I am curious about how each of my clients experience the world and I work holistically, attending to not only their psychological experience, but also their physical, emotional, and spiritual experiences. I find that my clients come to therapy wanting a different experience from the one they are currently having, bringing with them a wide range of concerns or issues that they want to work on. My intent is to provide a nonjudgmental and empathic space to support my clients in the courageous act of discovering who they really are. I see myself as both a witness and co-creator of the client’s therapeutic experience, walking with my clients on the path to self-discovery.

I am a Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. I hold a master’s degree in integral counseling psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies. I trained at the Church Street Integral Counseling Center, counseling individuals and studying gestalt therapy. I am now a therapist with Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center.

Mindfulness for Stress and Anxiety at Home: Finding Calm in Uncertain Times

January 5, 2021 by Elana Morgulis

During this challenging time, you might be feeling stressed and overwhelmed with life – all while being stuck at home.

-You might be having trouble sleeping at night because of anxious thoughts

-You might be feeling overwhelmed with job stress and disconnected from your coworkers because you are working from home.

-You might feel the anxiety in your stomach or stress in your neck and shoulders

-You feel alone in all of it and wonder if you are the only one struggling

-You are frustrated that you can’t do the normal activities of going to the gym, going out to see friends, or going to exercise classes

What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is more than just being present and aware of your thoughts and feelings. It’s paying a special kind of attention – one that is balanced, non-judgmental, and compassionate so that you can approach life with more freedom and ease.

Mindfulness can help:

-Reduce stress so you can have more clarity of mind

-Let go of obsessive thoughts so you can sleep peacefully at night

-Quiet the inner critic and develop self-compassion

-Learn to slow down so you can decrease job burn-out

-Know your emotions better which can improve relationships

-Calm anxiety so you can feel more joy and ease

The Free Online Introductory Class is Thursday January 14th, 5:30pm-6:30pm.

The 6-week group that follows this free event will also be online on Zoom on Thursdays at 5:30pm – 7pm. 6-Week Commitment. Pay what you can afford: $25 – $50 per group.

All Identity Adult Relational Growth Group

November 24, 2020 by Karla Amanda Brown

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.

Emotional Support Group for Teens

October 2, 2020 by Jyoti Nadhani

Therapist-facilitated support group for teens with symptoms of anxiety & depression from various stressors (ex: school, online learning, peers, social media, grades, online school, COVID-19, family). These groups are appropriate for ages 14 to 17, who are not currently in crisis, but seek support with stressors from varying sources, including impact of COVID and modified schooling. A supportive space will be provided for teens to connect with others and learn how their thoughts, feelings and behaviors can impact mood, energy, sleep, confidence, focus, health, relationships, etc.

This group will help teens to identify symptoms of anxiety and depression. Learn about:

-Self-defeating patterns

-Fearful or negative thinking

-Coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety-provoking situations

-Building self-confidence

-Peer to peer emotional support system.

6 UNIQUE Black-Indigenous-People-Of-Color (BIPOC) Telehealth Groups [times in description]

June 22, 2020 by Christhmus Presence

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

🏾 Bla ck Teen Group – ages 14-19, Tuesday 2-3:30PM, centering being a Black teen, covid, and community

🏽 Asi an 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

🏾 BIP OC 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

Raven Fisher

June 14, 2020 by Raven Fisher

Whatever circumstances you may be facing, I am here to walk with you through it. It is my desire to help you live a healthier, more fulfilling life. I specialize in anxiety, depression, traumatic experiences, self-esteem/identity issues, life transitions, and women’s issues. I provide a safe space for individuals to develop personal insight and awareness into the unique parts that make up their entire being. I am passionate about traveling with clients on their personal life path and empowering people to flourish.

My approach to psychotherapy blends psychodynamic and existential theoretical orientations with some acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Each orientation emphasizes a different time era – past, future, and present – all of which are necessary in the psychotherapeutic process to promote holistic mental health.

I currently offer virtual and in-person services.

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