Trauma

Lynn Aguilar

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I teach chronic dieters how to become “normal eaters”. Have you been dieting most of your life and you realize it’s just not working…but you’re thinking about trying yet another one. Have you joined and rejoined WW over the years, even reaching lifetime status but always gained the weight back… but here you are, ready to join again. The chatter in your head is never ending and your brain won’t stop obsessing…but you’re looking up another recipe, watching another cooking show, planning another menu, going to another blog…. You’re thinking three words… I’m. So. Done. I can help you get off of the diet roller coaster.

You have been listening to Diet Culture messages your entire life and it is natural to internalize them and be self-critical. You don’t have to do that anymore. Your value is not dependent on your weight or body size. You are enough in your now body. Food is not good or bad. It’s just food. You don’t have to be hypervigilant or asahmed of what you eat.

Food is both for pleasure and fuel. You don’t have to rely on anyone else to tell you what to eat. You have agency to choose to eat whatever feels right for you. It starts with education that leads to transformation: about culture, mindset, Intuitive Eating, body neutrality, and shame resilience. It’s learning to trust yourself and to trust your body.

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Dani Salzer

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The journey into and through motherhood invites us to experience intense love and joy, but it also touches our most raw and vulnerable parts. We may experience worries of not being good enough or fears of losing our identity. The practical challenges of becoming a parent (such as breastfeeding and balancing work and home) can be particularly difficult and overwhelming when sleep deprived. Even the strongest/most capable among us sometimes experience stressors that challenge our ability to cope.

The poet John O’Donohue once wrote that our greatest longing is to be seen. I have a warm, accepting style that encourages you to process painful feelings and experiences and move toward healing and growth. My approach is creative and collaborative— based on your unique experience, strengths, and challenges. Drawing from humanistic and experiential theory, I incorporate positive psychology, mindfulness, and expressive arts to help clients accept themselves, challenge maladaptive thoughts, authentically connect with those they care about, and slow down and experience the moment.

As a therapist and mother, I understand how difficult it can be to take time for yourself when you may feel like you are barely keeping up with the demands of life and motherhood. But I also know that taking the time now, to increase self-awareness can move you beyond mere survival and transform your experience of motherhood. I invite you to discover meaning in your new role as a mother, connect with inner strengths and wisdom and recreate harmony and meaning in your life.

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Camara Rajabari

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I am the Great Great Great+ Granddaughter of enslaved Africans and African Freedmen of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation. I stand on their shoulders.

I believe that society is shifting its focus—companies/billionaires are planning to create “metaverses” and it leaves me wondering about the role of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in these new “worlds.” Considering that many of the current roles for communities of color have been that of consumers, are “we” planning to assume the same roles in new worlds?

I am an AfroFuturist and I propose that we RE-Imagine our roles in the new world meta landscape from consumer to CREATOR. I believe we can only do that by REIMAGINING Liberation. So, my contribution is a space for Black, Indigenous, and POC to safely explore lineage healing as a roadmap to a future of our own design—we create our participation from a place of power, imagination, and equity.

The paradox of Ancestor psychotherapy is that it wants us to look back at the past and identify the roots of our suffering to contribute to our future. My theory is that it is in this process we go back and RETRIEVE what is nurturing, what is healing, and what is necessary for our evolutionary journey. This is what the Akan of Ghana refer to as Sankofa.

Ancestral psychotherapy holds that we (BIPOC) are critical shapers of the future and that the key to our survival is rooted in the past wisdom of our Ancestors.

I grew up in a family where social justice was a regular topic of conversation at the kitchen table. My family linked personal success with knowing one’s self, history, and culture as a source of strength. I have worked and lived within a variety of communities and have had the opportunity to learn from many rich cultural traditions. It is important to me to practice cultural humility by being respectful and curious. As a clinician, I believe deeply in the exploration of ancient ancestral wisdom as a psychological resource. Over the last few years, I have been working with traditional African Indigenous practices and honoring the wisdom of plant medicines to help heal generational trauma.

My psychotherapy practice is holistic in its foundation—meaning my primary focus is the whole person. Everything a person brings into therapy is important, valid, and worthy of exploration. I hold sacred the intersectionality of race, age, sexuality, religion, gender, ability, socio-economic background, citizenship status, and more. All identities are welcome in my practice, which I hold with integrity and respect. I work with the understanding that people are multiplicitous and there exist unique relationships to the many parts of the self. As an African American womxn, I understand the importance of linking our mental health to re-remembering our personal narratives and evolving identities. I am an advocate for addressing historical harms and healing intergenerational wounds through trauma-informed practices, that can include ancestral veneration, expressive arts, mindfulness, depth/dream analysis, nature-based spirituality, and the exploration of consciousness.

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Theresa Soltzberg

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I am honored to support your healing and growth in the next phase of your personal development. No matter where you are in your life journey and what challenges have brought you to therapy, I believe that you have the inner resources and wisdom to move forward and realize your goals and potential. I am here to provide a safe and nurturing place for you to explore your internal world, relationships and whole self as you move forward.

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee currently completing the Master of Arts in Psychology – Holistic program at JFK University. I chose this program because I believe that growth depends on bringing together all aspects of who we are. We carry past wounds in our bodies and in the younger parts of ourselves that often did not have the words yet to make sense of our story. We can heal these parts of ourselves by paying attention to and accepting ourselves exactly where we are, and by using our creativity, imagination and higher selves to help navigate our inner world and change our everyday lives.

I offer a variety of tools and approaches based on what works for you and what fits you best. Some of the tools I’ve learned and have benefitted from personally include Hakomi, Internal Family Systems, narrative and writing, mindfulness, developmental trauma and attachment informed therapy, expressive arts therapy, movement, and ecopsychology. I work mainly with adults and young adults in life transition, bringing to my work over 20 years of experience in the field of corporate adult learning and development.

Congratulations on taking this next important step and may your journey bring you everything you need and want from life.

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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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Noel Karcie

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As a therapist, I have the utmost respect for anyone who is willing to take a look at their life and set a goal to work towards what they want. In order for this to happen, there has to be a mutual trust and respect between the client and therapist. I believe that therapy can be life changing and when an individual is ready to do the work, even a minor adjustment can make a huge difference. I strive to provide each client with a unique approach. We are all on this journey together. My goal is to help others see clearly and live a life of happiness, gratitude, and success.

Having the support of family and friends is wonderful, however sometimes that is simply not enough. I listen with an open mind and whole heart to offer an unbiased perspective that we so rarely receive from those closest to us. Through science-based research and mindful guidance, I journey alongside you in an adventure of truth and freedom.

The truth is, when it works, you begin to feel alive again. There is a magic that happens when you open yourself up and begin to accept all that you deserve. I am open, honest, and direct. I love to see the transition of people’s lives which takes place as they use the tools and insight provided to them through therapy. Whether you’re looking for deep interpersonal counseling or more of a solution focused consultant the benefits are endless.

Let’s begin!

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Noel Karcie

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As a therapist, I have the utmost respect for anyone who is willing to take a look at their life and set a goal to work towards what they want. In order for this to happen, there has to be a mutual trust and respect between the client and therapist. I believe that therapy can be life changing and when an individual is ready to do the work, even a minor adjustment can make a huge difference. I strive to provide each client with a unique approach. We are all on this journey together. My goal is to help others see clearly and live a life of happiness, gratitude, and success.

Having the support of family and friends is wonderful, however sometimes that is simply not enough. I listen with an open mind and whole heart to offer an unbiased perspective that we so rarely receive from those closest to us. Through science-based research and mindful guidance, I journey alongside you in an adventure of truth and freedom.

The truth is, when it works, you begin to feel alive again. There is a magic that happens when you open yourself up and begin to accept all that you deserve. I am open, honest, and direct. I love to see the transition of people’s lives which takes place as they use the tools and insight provided to them through therapy. Whether you’re looking for deep interpersonal counseling or more of a solution focused consultant the benefits are endless.

Let’s begin!

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All Identity Adult Relational Growth Group

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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.

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