You may already know where your struggles come from. You may have spent years trying to understand yourself, read the books, or even been in therapy before. And yet anxiety, trauma, relationship patterns, or overwhelming emotional reactions continue to show up in ways that don't make sense. If that's where you find yourself, you're not alone, and it doesn't mean you've failed. I believe healing involves more than insight alone. Together, we'll slow things down enough to understand not only your story, but also how your nervous system, emotions, and protective patterns have learned to help you survive. My role isn't to tell you what's wrong with you. It's to help you develop a deeper understanding of yourself while creating the conditions for lasting change. My approach is collaborative, relational, and thoughtfully paced. I integrate eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and depth-oriented therapy, adapting the process to your needs rather than following a rigid formula. Some sessions focus on understanding patterns, while others involve processing experiences that continue to affect you in the present. Throughout our work, I aim to create a space where you feel safe enough to be honest, curious, and fully yourself. Therapy doesn't require you to have everything figured out before you begin. Whether you're seeking support for trauma, anxiety, relationship difficulties, or simply feel like something isn't shifting despite your efforts, I'd be honored to help you explore what healing might look like for you.

Brene Brown says: "If we really want to live a joyful, connected, and meaningful life, we must talk about things that get in the way.” For people who come from families of color, particularly Asian and Latinx families, talking about generational trauma is taboo. Your pain is valid. You do not have to ignore or forgive them, "because they're family." When we sit down for therapy, I am here to listen, empathize, and help you heal. Making that first call to a new therapist is scary. And telling a complete stranger all your deepest, darkest secrets to try and feel better can seem hopeless. I won't wave a magic wand to make your problems go away. What I will do is walk with you on your path to healing. It's easy to get lost on that path. Luckily, my experience and compassion are the GPS.

I specialize in working with older adults facing medical illness, disability, grief, and the emotional challenges that come with aging and loss of independence. I also work with family members and caregivers navigating the stress and uncertainty of supporting an aging loved one. I help seniors experiencing depression, anxiety, adjustment to health changes, bereavement, and later-life transitions. I provide psychotherapy to older adults throughout the state of California. I accept Medicare and secondary insurance, and many clients have no out-of-pocket cost. You do not have to face these challenges alone. Please call 408-956-6896 to see if we may be a good fit. Keywords: Geriatric, Chronic Illness, Grief, Depression, Anxiety, Disability, Older Adults, Seniors, Aging, Loss, Terminal Illness, Men's Issues, Medicare, Psychologist, Sacramento, Fremont, Modesto, Bakersfield, San Jose, Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward, San Diego, Los Angeles, Saratoga, Campbell, Los Gatos, San Francisco, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Salinas, Sunnyvale

Are you living with past trauma or navigating a significant life transition? Feeling stressed, anxious or overwhelmed as a result? Maybe a relationship has ended or a new phase of life has just begun, or perhaps you’re living with the long-term effects of abuse, assault, chronic health conditions, or another traumatic experience. You may feel unsafe and out of control of your life or emotions... anxious about even the smallest things, or like you just can’t find your footing. Despite how hard things are right now, you know there’s more to life than this. Clients come to me looking for someone who isn’t clinical or cold, but instead creates a space where they feel safe opening up about some of the most intimate parts of their lives. I will help you break down the negative thought patterns that are holding you back, build healthy coping skills, and finally put down the burdens of your past.

Are you feeling stuck in painful relationship patterns, overwhelmed by anxiety, or disconnected from yourself? You may be struggling with recurring conflict, emotional distance, grief, life transitions, or the feeling that you have lost touch with who you really are. I am Patrick Purcell, Licensed Marriage and (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)), and I work with individuals and couples who want to understand themselves more deeply, heal longstanding patterns, and create more satisfying relationships. My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and informed by decades of clinical experience, attachment theory, and Jungian depth psychology. In couples therapy, I help partners move beyond blame and defensiveness toward greater understanding, emotional safety, and connection. Individual therapy may include exploring anxiety, depression, self-esteem, childhood experiences, relationship patterns, and the parts of ourselves that developed to protect us. I believe meaningful change involves more than learning new techniques. It also means understanding the deeper emotional patterns that keep us stuck, and developing a more accepting, authentic relationship with ourselves. I offer online therapy throughout California, with a free 15-minute introductory consultation. If you are considering therapy, I welcome the opportunity to talk with you about what you are experiencing and whether I may be a good fit.

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.

I work with people of all backgrounds, and I specialize in treating queer, trans, gender nonconforming people, artists, and women at all stages of life. My style is engaged, respectful, collaborative, and compassionate; informed by a socio-cultural lens. You don't have to go at it alone. Contact me and let's begin the conversation. Are you seeking relief from depression, anxiety, grief, or the effects of a breakup? Are you struggling at work? Maybe you want to change how you interact with your family or partner? I can help you to improve your relationships, navigate life transitions, and heal from traumatic experiences. In therapy, you can begin to create meaningful changes: better relationships, more work satisfaction, greater self-understanding, and more fulfillment. I have found that through therapy, sometimes what is painful at the start leads to a more fulfilled, free, and meaningful life. I will hold your feelings in the context of both your past and present life as we make sense of them. I will listen to you carefully, working with you to develop a fuller understanding of what you are experiencing so that I can support you through it. I invite you to schedule an initial session.

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.

Do you feel life or work stress are sucking the fun out of your life? Are you and your partner stuck having the same argument over and over again, leaving you feeling unheard, unappreciated, and lonely? Do you want to make some changes in your life, but feel unsure or stuck? I can be your partner in change. I provide warm and supportive space for my clients to share thoughts and feelings, but I also provide a solution focused approach. I assess my clients quickly and learn what their needs are. I offer insight and suggest relevant tools, skills and solutions to their issues. I collaborate with my clients to help them create the changes they want in their lives.

Humanistic Psychology is based on a positive view of the psyche, and mental illness is often seen as a call from the psyche to pay attention, to become more mindful, and to be willing to listen to your own heart's desire to change and to heal. I profoundly enjoy working with people in an accepting and non-judgmental way that helps them actualize their potentials for healing and for being the very best that they can be. I work with people to "wipe the fog off of the mirror of self-reflection" as they learn to see themselves more clearly. As your psychotherapy proceeds, we work to create a safe relationship through which you can experience unknown or even feared aspects of your personality. We explore possible adjustments in your behaviors, habits, thinking, and emotional processing to improve your life, increase happiness and self-efficacy, and deepen self-love; and we will explore how you can make these changes.