For women looking to grow, expand and heal in their relationships. This group will explore here and now, relational concerns and desires as they arise in real time with others in the group. Connection and application made to life outside of the group.
Clinical Social Worker
Weekly God and Therapy Group
For women of the Christian faith who are interested in the psychological AND in hearing what God has to say about the issue(s).
Monthly case consultation group for Black women clinicians
For Black women working with Black women, interested in exploring how we deal with the unique intersectional transference and countertransference that arise in treatment when working within our communities.
LaTasha Smith
Therapy is successful when one feels heard, understood, and accepted. Regardless of circumstances, my priority is to help you feel comfortable enough to explore unfamiliar territory. My role is simply to guide you towards asking the hard questions, in becoming curious about your life and encourage you to explore new behaviors and ways of thinking. You and I will address your most immediate and important concerns, while also paying attention to underlying issues and reworking old behavioral patterns and ways of living that you feel are no longer helpful to you.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I received a Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago and a PhD from Smith College School for Social Work. My experience is based on of post graduate training, professional experience and lived experience. My work has involved working with trauma survivors of all ages, as well as the conditions that are most commonly associated such as eating disorders, self injury, behavioral addictions (shopping, emotional eating, gaming etc.) and depression.
My mission is to help those who have experienced trauma rebuild from brokenness, thereby creating more meaningful lives and relationships. Although trauma is commonly associated with life threatening events, I use a broader definition in my work. I believe that any experience that has a negative impact and interferes with healthy functioning, can be traumatic. I am honored to walk alongside you in this journey.
William Devon-Sand
Congratulations! Clearly you are seeking a guide to help you move into your next phase of life. While I don’t (yet) know you, I am thrilled for you. You are probably aware that the only thing constant is change. If you’re anything like me, you have probably encountered heartache and headache during the change process.
After many years of leading students in classrooms, I decided to become a therapist because I knew there had to be better ways to cope with life’s inevitable ups and downs. Thank goodness, there are!! However, maybe no one has taught you how to transition smoothly from one phase of life to another? Or maybe you haven’t had a partner to support you with developing your specific transition success recipe?
As a human and as a therapist, I know that not all things work for all people. So, I make it my work to get to know patients just like you in order to help them live confident, full and unstoppable lives. If you’re interested in a therapist to help you slow down the racing thoughts, sleep better and execute with precision, schedule a consultation session. I’d be glad to support you with improving the overall quality of your life.
Tessa Hernandez
Tessa is a bi-racial (Mexican-American), first-generation college student, mother. Her love for therapy began when she had a therapist help her through difficult family transitions. Her experience with the power of therapy and how unconditional positive regard can truly help a person grow is what drives her to serve in this way. Being able to witness a patient’s growth, resilience, and strength is truly a privilege for her. She is motivated to serve this way because everybody can benefit from some form of mental health services. She wishes to contribute to the normalization of people of all identities, socioeconomic statuses, and belief systems to be able to access affirming and affordable mental health care.
Tessa’s ideal patient is someone who is open to change, and collaboration, and interested in co-creating the therapy experience. She serves as a guide to help patients use their strengths to decide their goals and to understand what works best toward achieving their goals. Her aim is to provide patients a warm and nurturing environment that is free of judgment. Tessa has extensive experience working with the LGBTQIA+ community with a trauma-informed lens.
She wants patients to feel empowered during and after working with her. She wants them to be able to identify their unique qualities and strengths that were always there, but they may have just needed a little help seeing and experiencing them from within.
Filipinx Mother’s Circle (In-Person!)
In honor of Filipino American History Month, Filipinx mothers will connect, share space, and create a community for their motherhood journeys.
Participants in this group will explore:
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Mental health stigma, gendered expectations, colonization, intergenerational trauma, and all the other reasons why Filipinx moms may struggle with taking care of themselves
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How to connect with and heal those “parts” of us that carry the energy of intergenerational pain
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The many ways we can connect to our ancestors and histories and pass these connections on to future generation
Co-facilitated by Melissa Villamejor, AMFT #104927 and Kate Viernes, LCSW #80753
No one turned away for lack of funds.
BIPOC Mothers Group (Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color)
BIPOC Mothers offers support and solidarity within a society that is inherently racist and patriarchal.
Do you identify as BIPOC* (Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of Color/non-white) in the early stages of motherhood?
Have you struggled to find a moms group that centers YOUR experiences?
We welcome BIPOC mothers of all genders, those who are pregnant or have a pregnant partner, trying to conceive, adopting, postpartum, and up to their child’s first year of life. Note: AAPI- identified moms are welcome here too!
Kate Viernes
I am a licensed clinical social worker with over 7 years of experience providing psychotherapy to adults, teens, and youth. Before starting my private practice, I worked as a clinician and clinical manager at a community-based mental health program in Oakland serving APIs (Asian Pacific Islanders) and immigrants and refugees from various parts of the world. In this setting, not only was I able to develop a high standard of clinical rigor in my work, but I found and grew a passion for mental health advocacy, outreach, and preventive education. I worked on several projects aimed at reducing mental health stigma among high-risk populations including Asian seniors, adults with severe mental illnesses, and my personal favorite, high school and college students.
I became interested in ethnic studies and the social work/mental health professions as a Sociology undergraduate student at the University of San Francisco, particularly after doing my senior field work placement at a residential substance abuse recovery program serving the API community. I went on to attain masters degrees in Asian American Studies and Social Welfare at UCLA. These two disciplines are grounded deeply in the pursuit of equality and social justice, and they continue to inform how I see the world and try to empower others to change and grow. While at UCLA, I researched the experiences of Filipinx Americans and wrote my master’s thesis on racial microaggressions experienced by Filipinx American youth in Hawaii, where I grew up. Simultaneously, I studied social work and did field placements at a program serving the homeless community in Los Angeles (my first year) and in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s School Mental Health Program (my second year). Additionally, I attained the Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) which allows me to practice social work in California’s K-12 public schools.
Angelynn Hermes
I provide online video-based therapy for adults who are seeking a respectful, collaborative space to explore their inner experiences. My strengths lie in my attentive witnessing to emotion and body as pathways to unlocking each person’s innate ability to heal themselves, access authenticity, and achieve goals to build towards their vision of a meaningful life. The language of depression, anxiety, trauma, OCD, neurodiversity and more may be helpful in addressing day to day challenges or symptoms, though I also see each person as a complex whole of self, relationships, and culture. Whatever brings you to therapy, you are welcome.
Therapy must be built on a foundation of consent, and collaboration- time after time it is the quality of one’s relationship with their therapist that predicts the time spent in therapy being beneficial. I welcome all parts of you and your history and all aspects of identity into therapy. I am explicitly LGBTQ, sex worker, kink, and non-monogamy affirming.
I am constantly humbled by how having a space to feel deeply and surface experiences that may be hard to process alone has given those I work with access to meaningful change, growth, and inner fulfillment. I can offer a range of tools (EMDR, DBT, ERP, CBT) and a groundedness in mindfulness and feminist psychotherapy to support your time in therapy.