Find a Therapist near Hercules, CA

As a therapist, I enjoy traveling alongside my clients to help them navigate the many complexities of transitional times. Pregnancy, motherhood, starting a new job or moving through divorce are significant stressors for people, even when the transition is one you have chosen. These times of intense change bring with them an opportunity for growth and for deepening our understanding of ourselves. I strive to foster a safe, nurturing, and non-judgmental environment for my clients to explore their unique lives, inclusive of births and deaths and joys and wounds. I believe that change can occur when clients feel truly accepted. In our culture, we receive many messages that we are not good enough or are not doing it “right,” and this can lead to problems with self-esteem, anxiety, shame, and depression. I hope that together we can create an environment that helps you to move forward in your life, toward your personal goals for health and happiness. As a mother to three grown children, I have rich life experience that I draw from in my work with clients. I am a trauma-informed therapist and I utilize Internal Family Systems, Attachment Theory, and Mindfulness practices, in order to help my clients change and grow.

To work with me is to consider seeing your life through the lens of rites of passage. To see life as a ceremony. Holding the possibility that each day, each moment is a ritual. Of tending to what is unfolding as well as creating what we long to be. A practice of presence. Walking the wild edge. The threshold of change. Therapy can be both an act of kindness towards yourself as well as a resource, a place for healing, a journey towards wellness, a container to be held in the alchemical shift that dissolves the old and initiates the new. It is a deeply personal process, ultimately transformative in that it relies on several vital ingredients: willingness, desire, and commitment. Healing is a path of devotion. I believe we are all cyclical beings. We see the cycle of life, death, and rebirth everywhere-–in the earth’s seasons, in the phases of the moon, in our gardens, and in our breath cycles. This process of building up towards a peak of growth and fullness and then waning down towards darkness allows for rebirth and is a fundamental piece of what it means to be human. As we navigate these cycles, we develop both healthy and unhealthy patterns and rhythms that guide our lives. We create these patterns, both consciously and sometimes unconsciously, from a combination of influences from our internal worlds as well as our environment. My clients appreciate my willingness to get lost and found in the discovery together. My passion lies in initiating people into their magic & medicine. I work with folks navigating all sorts of life transitions and guide them in moving through the threshold that life is calling them to cross over. Claim their RITE TO HEAL. I am a fierce advocate for creative possibility and radical aliveness. The alchemy of activism means our healing work is act of (re)evolution. I love working with healers in all their glory, catalyst creators, community tenders, disruptors, leaders who are looking to embody their seat, folks who are here to change their lineage in radical ways, and always people who are asking the questions that go beyond themselves. My joy is supporting folks liberating from constructs that are too small and supporting them in their Sovereignty. Often I am holding space for deep grief, lost inner children, folks who are unwinding from codependency, magical people who were never reflected, and always people ready to initiate onto their soul path. My work with couples is deeply rooted in the belief that partnershiprelationship is a sacred path of shadow work and radical self responsibility. For there is no such thing as one way liberation. I hold the therapeutic relationship as an intuitive field, where we are guided by the mythos and magic of storytelling. Always listening to the story of the Soul longing to breakthrough and be expressed in its fullest exaltation. My prayer is that we awaken to the inquiry that goes beyond just who we are into a deep remembering of what we are. Many people say that my work feels more like wisdom, devotion, curiosity, reverence, magic and mayhem more than anything else. I am honored to be your guide. You can work with me directly @ www.wylderlife.com I see clients virtually in CA. I am rooted in Sebastopol, CA.

My specialty in an integrative spiritual and psychological approach. This means that the best wisdom from the Bible and from other spiritual sources is blended with sound psychological insights, research, and technique. This prepares us to compassionately explore the complexity of your life. You will not be judged or forced in making the changes you are seeking, or in the ways that you believe. Instead, you will be assisted in developing your own authentic new ways of thinking, acting, and living out your purpose. There is wisdom, designed into each one of us that many times we don't pay attention to in places we get stuck. I can help you rediscover and cultivate that wisdom, and it will feel surprisingly like the new ways of living are more true and genuine, even if you have never lived that way. But you will also be given a wealth of new information and direction. I work in a more interactive manner compared to other therapists. I do work hard to listen and understand you, but I have found people really want guidance, ideas, and practical solutions. I offer feedback, suggestions on what to do, and "homework" to accomplish between sessions. I answer your questions, and provide recommendations for study outside the session. You may also find that the atmosphere in sessions is more comfortable and natural than you may expect or have experienced. I create a relaxed, informal atmosphere, where you can be yourself, and even have fun and laugh in the sessions.

BETRAYAL TRAUMA When your partner (your primary attachment) has betrayed your trust and made you feel unsafe, it is so important to reach out for empathetic support and guidance. Using the APSATS model as a guide, I can help you develop a safety plan, develop tools to regulate emotions, and help you set appropriate boundaries that work for you and your set of circumstances. Each phase will help lead you to clarity and an understanding of how to care for yourself and get your desired outcome. If you are a couple trying to navigate this difficult process, my experience in betrayal trauma and 15 years of couples counseling, will be put to use to help you heal and develop the kind of relationship you have always wanted. It will take hard work, and it will take longer than you want, but it can happen! Partner betrayal trauma group for women (in-office), Monday 10-11:30 am, call for details and pricing. Partner betrayal trauma group for women (telehealth) TBD call for details and pricing

Have you been considering therapy but reluctant to schedule that first session? It can be uncomfortable asking for help. I believe that psychotherapy is a collaborative process; the most important element is a strong alliance between therapist and client. As a therapist who believes that all people are capable of change and growth, my hope is that I can join with you to assist in identifying your goals and developing a plan to address them in a satisfying way. Whatever problems or issues you might present, I will provide support and honor your experiences.

While supporting through partnership in the journey of discovery, exploration of possible changes, and goal setting; it is the individual client who is the navigator with the assistance of the clinician through the process of counseling, coaching and encouragement from the therapist. Clients are accepted for who they are and there is no judgment on situations.

Are you tired of the arguing in your house? Nowadays it's easier to fight than to talk to each other. When families do not have the skills to communicate effectively, they often struggle needlessly. Whether it's arguing between you and your partner or you and your kids, it's important to develop the skills to communicate and listen to each other. Of course you want a peaceful household and maybe you don't know where to turn. The good news, is you're in the right place. I've devoted my professional life to helping couples and families have more peace, communicate better, and love and laugh more often. Please don't wait another day. I would love to help you and your family find more peace and joy. I would love to hear your story.

It can be very difficult to take steps towards positive change or to seek support when facing challenge in your life. Therefore, my primary goal when working with a new client is to create a comfortable environment. I strive to get to know you and to understand what you want from our work. I believe that each person's needs will be different, so I draw from a wide range of techniques to tailor therapy to your specific goals. These tools can help you address challenges, understand patterns in your life, improve relationships and accomplish your personal or professional goals. I practice a variety of research-supported therapies, often drawing from cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, acceptance, compassion based, and humanistic techniques.

We seek psychotherapy for all kinds of reasons, commonly from a deep wanting for something to be different, for something to change. My goal is to help lift the veil of what is not working in your life by bringing you closer to yourself, your loved ones, and creating a path to a life you want, like, and feel that you are choosing. Clients who gravitate toward me as a therapist tend to share a desire to know themselves with greater depth and kindness. I offer the opportunity to make connections between what has happened in the past and the impact on the present, while also consistently highlighting strengths and what is working well. These skills can assist us in weathering issues like anxiety, depression, addiction and co-dependency, chronic illness, and challenging or fractured relationships. My presence can be described as curious, interactive, collaborative, and authentic. At times I will bring humor, at times challenging insights and feedback. And while I will always be a FOMO anarchist, challenging us to slow down rather than rush, I will show up with humility and respect for each individual’s pace, process, and needs. I meet people with allyship, with particular sensitivity to identities and populations that are systemically disallowed from taking up the same amount of space and value as others. My primary therapeutic orientations are relationalhumanistic, strength-based, and internal family systems. I look forward to hearing from you for a free consultation so you can decide whether I may be a place of safety and support for you.

Dr. Steven S. Steele has thirty years of counseling experience working with couples, individuals, and families in Los Altos and the San Francisco Bay Area, California. His private practice specializes in couples counseling, affair recovery, premarital counseling, and relationship counseling for executives and high-performing professionals. As a Level 3 trained Gottman Method practitioner and a certified practitioner in Relational Life Therapy (RLT), his work integrates the research-based framework of the Gottman Method with the relational directness of RLT — focused, practical, and built around the specific situation each client brings. He works with couples and individuals navigating communication breakdown, betrayal and trust repair, major life transitions, and the relational pressures of demanding careers. Dr. Steele's advanced graduate work includes a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary—with an emphasis in organizational psychology and attachment theory—as well as a separate master’s degree with an emphasis in family systems theory. Dr. Steele completed his hospital residency in C.P.E. at USC Arcadia Hospital (formerly A.M.H) and has served as Supervisor of students for Field Education at several graduate schools. Dr. Steele is available for in-person sessions in his Los Altos, California, office, or online for clients living in or beyond the Bay Area, including San Francisco, and internationally. Given the nature of Dr. Steele's executive clientele, he understands the need for confidentiality and a space to explore personal issues with safety and discretion. Initial consultations are complimentary.