Marriage & Family Therapist

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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Managing Depression and Anxiety Holistically: A Skills and Support Group

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This group provides an encouraging, non-judgmental space to establish self-care practices to manage symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Along with solution-focused goal-setting and tracking tools, we’ll have space to build understanding and compassion for ongoing challenges and blocks that may arise along the way. For the full group description, visit: www.alchemytherapy.org/supportgroup

Schedule:

10 weekly sessions between the dates of March 6th – May 25th

Ongoing day and time TBD based on group member availability – please disregard schedule information input on this listing site

Structure:

Our meetings will blend time for individual check-ins, group experiential practices, skill-shares, and group discussions on topics of interest. The group sessions will be 90 minutes long, all online. We will have the same 6 to 8 members throughout the whole group.

Fees:

Sliding-Scale, $30-$100/week, paid via credit card. Payments for all 10 sessions will be made at the start of the group.

(If the fee range above is prohibitive to your participation, I will reach out if a reduced fee spot becomes available.)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Managing Depression and Anxiety Holistically: A Skills and Support Group

by

This group provides an encouraging, non-judgmental space to establish self-care practices to manage symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Along with solution-focused goal-setting and tracking tools, we’ll have space to build understanding and compassion for ongoing challenges and blocks that may arise along the way. For the full group description, visit: www.alchemytherapy.org/supportgroup

Schedule:

10 weekly sessions between the dates of March 6th – May 25th

Ongoing day and time TBD based on group member availability

Structure:

Our meetings will blend time for individual check-ins, group experiential practices, skill-shares, and group discussions on topics of interest. The group sessions will be 90 minutes long, all online. We will have the same 6 to 8 members throughout the whole group.

Fees:

Sliding-Scale, $30-$100/week, paid via credit card. Payments for all 10 sessions will be made at the start of the group.

(If the fee range above is prohibitive to your participation, I will reach out if a reduced fee spot becomes available.)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Sabrina Sierra

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As a therapist, I see myself as a collaborator in an unfolding process of collective liberation. I take a holistic approach grounded in cultural humility and an understanding that our lived identities and ancestral lineages greatly impact our struggles and paths to wellness.

I received an MA in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a BA in Community Studies from UC Santa Cruz. I approach therapy with an interest in spirituality, archetypes, and consciousness. I am also grounded in material realities and bring a critical social justice framework to my practice. Issues related to racism, colonization, and assimilation are key areas of focus for me. Additionally, I have devoted several years to intersectional gender-justice work centered on the experiences of female, trans, and non-binary people, especially youth.

I was born and raised in the Bay Area and identify as mestiza or multiracial with recent generations of my family immigrating from the Philippines and Guatemala. Outside of my family of origin, I’ve found community through participation in DIY & QTPOC arts and music scenes and activist groups.

Tending to ourselves empowers us to more positively evolve our relationships, communities, and world. Supporting you in nurturing self-compassion, connecting to your inner-wisdom, and aligning with your personal values is my intention.

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Weekly IFS Meditation Workshop

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This donation-based, weekly event is intended to broaden access to those seeking inner resourcing and psychological healing from an Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach, which is a model that focuses on creating inner harmony. All are welcome who wish to deepen their inner healing.

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Joy Linn

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I am honored to be a support to those facing difficulties and challenges in life. I am a compassionate listener with a wide range of clinical skills and expertise. I am culturally-sensitive, trauma-informed, anti-racist, weight-inclusive, kink-aware, poly friendly and queer. My goal is to create a safe space for you and to guide you in exploring your internal world and the root issues to your concerns.

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Maria Thompson

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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.

Online Mindfulness Group for Teens

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The Online Mindfulness Group for Teens will be an 8-week online skills-based group for high-school-aged teens targeted toward those with an interest in developing mindfulness skills. We’ll cover a number of topics, including:

  • introductory mindfulness skills

  • skills for navigating intense emotions

  • befriending boredom

  • understanding defenses

  • managing social media, substance and alcohol use

  • self-acceptance, self-compassion

  • relationships

This group welcomes clients across gender, sexuality and neurodiversity spectrums. The facilitators are committed to the continual pursuit of culturally responsive care.

 

This group is run by Jeremy Prillwitz LAADC and Darcy Dittrich AMFT.

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Darcy Dittrich

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My Approach​

I endeavor to bring warmth, awareness, and connection to my sessions. I co-create a unique healing experience with clients, often using humor and creativity to encourage mindfulness, self-compassion, and change. I believe firmly that healing is non-linear, and absolutely that it is possible. My colleagues have described me as “compassionate, deep-feeling, inquisitive and intuitive.” My clients have described me as “warm, accepting, and caring.”

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I tend to work from a blend of humanistic, relational, and psychodynamic lenses, which means I work to help clients gain clearer insight into their lives, identities, and relationships while holding that each person is a unique, valuable being. We’ll look at patterns that have shown up again and again in your life by gaining a deeper understanding of your emotions, thoughts, early-life experiences and beliefs. Once we can see these patterns clearly is when we can begin to approach the change you’d like to see. We’ll also focus on your relationships, values, and autonomy. I borrow techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness-Based Self Compassion, and Motivational Interviewing. You may or may not be familiar with these theories and terms, and ultimately you probably don’t need to be! Once we establish your goals, we’ll develop a treatment plan with what’s best for you.

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I pursue antiracism, feminism, Harm Reduction, Health at Every Size (HAES), LGBTQ+ allyship and disability justice. I am trauma-informed. I encourage the discussion of intersectional identity. If you’re not sure what that means, let’s talk about it!

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About Me

I earned my Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley. I completed my Clinical Internship at SF AIDS Foundation’s Stonewall Project, a counseling program dedicated to providing Harm Reduction-based substance use and mental health treatment to gay, bi and trans men who have sex with men (MSM) who are interested in addressing their drug or alcohol use. I have specific clinical experience working with anxiety, depression, substance and alcohol use, sex and sexuality, career coaching, identity, trauma, and relationships. I have a deep understanding of multicultural relationships, work stress, life transitions, blended families, performing arts, chronic pain, and intuitive eating.

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Prior to beginning a career in counseling, I worked at tech startups and Fortune 500 corporations for a decade. This helped me develop a strong sense of professionalism, and also exposed me to the pressures of our modern working world. I’ve witnessed the impacts of stress, burnout, and discrimination. Supporting my colleagues in their struggles deepened my interest in pursuing a career helping others with healing and growth.

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I grew up in the Northeast, and have also lived in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, plus a brief time in Rome. I love exploring and learning about new cultures, but California has been my home since 2010. My favorite things to do include: walking, hiking, dancing, yoga, listening to music, painting, singing at the top of my lungs, cooking, baking bread, meditating and taking naps.

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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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