Center for Transformational
Therapy
Spencer Campbell, LMFT - Director, Psychotherapist
I offer healing and transformational therapy. Healing therapy aims at symptom management and neurological and emotional reprogramming. I use trauma-focused treatments, such as EMDR and Somatic Processing to help my clients process acute and complex traumatic experiences in order to minimize and integrate difficult emotions and create space for deeper transformative work. Transformational therapy involves helping clients establish access to and cultivate a relationship with awareness itself. The transformational work is based on the principle that healing the ego requires establishing a relationship with the presence that is prior to it.
Relationship counseling: I help couples heal the core issues which relationship invariably triggers, by supporting them in establishing a harmonious relationship with awareness, and the essential masculine and feminine aspects of Being. I assist couples in realizing that relationship with the 'other' is an externalization and reflection of their essential relationship with themselves. This deepening understanding transforms communication with the other and allows for growing emotional capacity and an increasingly happy, stable, and mature relationship.
I have practiced intensively in a number of meditative and spiritual traditions, such as Vipassana, Zen, Christian mysticism, the non-dual and tantric traditions of India and currently Guru Bhakti yoga. My psychotherapy practice embodies a longstanding commitment to spirituality and growth.
Bachelor's of Arts, Cornell University (1996). Master's degree in Integral Counseling Psychology, the California Institute of Integral Studies (2004).
Mihai Algiu, LMFT - Psychotherapist
I view psychotherapy as a useful tool and support towards our innate pursuit of happiness, contentment and harmony. Whether recovering from years of addiction, healing from the aftermath of past wounds, navigating difficult relationship dynamics, dealing with trauma, loss, transition, uncovering old programmed limiting beliefs....our innate authentic self/spirit strives towards wholeness and being in harmony with all things. Beyond the healing of the past, there is yet another effective application of somatic psychotherapy, whereby working with a therapist can serve as an aid in an evolutionary journey of the spirit towards discovering causeless happiness, freedom and harmony.
My approach is experiential, effective and practical -influenced by Hakomi ~Mindfulness based Somatic Psychotherapy, Shadow Work, Gestalt, Psychodrama, Attachment Theory, CBT, as well as a variety of Eastern spiritual teachings (Advaita, 4th Way). I have extensive experience working with men, women and youth in crisis, as well as incarcerated men. I have a client-centered approach guiding the client back to their own innate inner wisdom, strengths and authentic self. I consider mindfulness and self-inquiry as an important ingredient in the process of healing, freedom from unnecessary suffering, and being happy celebrating life.
Vesna Westbrook, AMFT - Associate Psychotherapist
There are many reasons to begin therapy. At times, we arrive here because life challenges us to heal and to grow. At other times, we challenge ourselves to a deeper understanding of who we are and where we belong.
Psychotherapy is an inquiry into how to live, and how to be with difficulty. My approach is depth-oriented, transpersonal, relational, and existential-humanistic. My focus lies on the integration of complex trauma, which can manifest in various ways.
I hold a Master's degree in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. I also earned a Dual Master's in Philosophy and Religious Studies, and an additional three-year Certificate in Creative Writing from the University of Tübingen in Germany. I am certified as a Philosophical Counselor through the American Philosophical Practitioners Association. My lifelong spiritual practice has been essential in my understanding of healing and wellbeing.
I work with all populations and specialize in child and adolescent therapy. My own international background enables me to understand and work within different cultural contexts. I offer sessions in English and in German.
Dedzin Kriteman, LMFT - Psychotherapist
As a somatically trained psychotherapist, I value what is happening in the body as equally as I value thoughts, ideas and emotions. Much of how we operate in the world comes from the patterning of the subconscious mind and body, below the surface of conscious awareness. My work includes safely navigating the potent world of the unseen to bring light and consciousness to the obscured drivers of our painful karmic patterning.
Everything makes sense within a context. When we are able to understand the reasons why we act out, say, feel and express things the way we do, we have much more power to re-pattern our thoughts, actions, and behaviors to create a life that is nourishing and satisfying at the core. By developing a practice of being with the Presence of Awareness, we are able to better self-regulate, make choices instead of react, and speak authentically to whatever situation arises.
The therapeutic use of touch in psychotherapy is a newly burgeoning gift we are able to utilize as somatic therapists that conveniently bridges my long time career as a successful, licensed Massage Therapist and Reiki healer, work I still do today. Going far beyond talk therapy, my specialization in somatic work includes various certifications in trauma-informed modalities including: Vajrayana Buddhist practices of body and breath-centered meditation, Hakomi Mindfulness Therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Bill Bowen’s Psycho Physical Therapy, and Hatha and Vinyasa yoga practices.
My background also includes direct, personal experience with a variety of venerable plant medicines, which will soon bridge my therapeutic work into Ketamine-Assisted Therapy as well as other medicines for deep transformation of mind and body.
I offer a caring, highly-attuned, safe environment where together we will explore the unconscious drivers of patterns that keep you from living the life you dream of living and/or help you integrate the potent medicine work you have done on your own. Please let me know how I might be of service to you.
Jennifer Hartmann, LMFT, APCC - Psychotherapist
“The body-unconscious is where life bubbles up in us. It is how we know that we are alive, alive to the depths of our souls…” – D. H. Lawrence
“Love…does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.” – St. Paul
It takes courage to examine your life with another person, and I will join you on the journey with care and respect for the sacredness of vulnerability. My clients are adults of all ages, couples, children aged 12 to 17, and families challenged by complex trauma, stressful life transitions, and addiction. I have nearly twenty years’ trauma-sensitive experience with mind-body-spirit integrating approaches including Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Shamanic Craniosacral Therapy, and Brainspotting. My work focuses on identifying and clearing negative ego patterns and resolving the challenge between personality and spirit, with practical application for your life.
Caitlin Pell, AMFT - Associate Psychotherapist
I take a person-centered approach that is grounded in care and compassion. Seeking support for your emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs is the first step towards attaining greater freedom and ease in life. I acknowledge each client for taking this first and most difficult step, and intend to do my part in providing a safe & supportive atmosphere to begin exploring.
My intention is to gently guide you towards your own innate wisdom and fully support you as your transformation unfolds. I prefer to take a direct, experiential approach, meeting each client where they are at and honoring their individual needs. I specialize in body-based (somatic) inquiry to address a variety of issues, with a specific interest in treating trauma, relationship issues, and addiction. My therapeutic approach is uniquely inspired from my own personal experience with healing, drawing from both ancient Eastern philosophy and modern research-based theories of attachment and developmental trauma.
It is a profound joy to support others on their path towards freedom from suffering and awakening to a more meaningful, authentic, and happy life. I look forward to learning how I can serve you.
Matthew Zavala, LMFT - Psychotherapist
I work with clients who are motivated, open, curious and seeking a deeper transformational experience of themselves. My clients are seekers of personal truth and existential wisdom that not only fosters personal growth but deepens their connection to those they love and to a grounded sense of presence in their lives. My clients are looking to re-establish a unified experience of the heart, mind and spirit to heal and soften the issues they are currently facing in their lives.
I integrate a strong mindfulness based component to my foundations in client centered psychotherapy. Incorporating my clients own personal, cultural, spiritual and religious orientations into treatment provides clients with personally relevant foundations from which they can access greater self-awareness and an outlet for continued personal growth & healing.
I am a counselor that is personable, attentive, open, honest, and attuned. I strive to genuinely connect with your experience and your passage through your varying life circumstances. I can aid you in developing a non-judgmental, humanistic, compassionate and safe experience of self-exploration and consciousness expansion.
Zachary Arnold, AMFT - Associate Psychotherapist
It can be really challenging to keep up with demands and the pressure of the lives. The world we live in doesn’t always value our authentic selves or our emotional needs. It is up to each of to do the work to uncover our needs, to value them and find healing. Healing involves awakening to our emotions, processing the events that have shaped us and finding/creating new meaning in our lives.
Join me on this journey to explore and connect with the deep emotional content that shapes our existences. Until we fully feel and come to terms with what has happened in the past, we will be driven by it. Freedom is our birthright, but it takes work. And it takes compassion to accept where we are in that process.
I believe that people have the power to change their lives. You are the expert of your
experience, and a person-centered approach expresses the dignity and respect of that
knowledge. I am honored to be invited into your personal world and want that experience to be nourishing for you. Regardless of the type of therapy, the relationship is the most important factor for change, and building that relationship is something I value deeply. I view therapy holistically and believe we must treat the whole person. Our minds and bodies are connected and a truly effective therapy will incorporate all of our parts.
I am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist with an orientation based on Attachment
Theory and a Jungian perspective of the subconscious mind. I am Certified in the treatment of addictions, and have multiple years’ experience in various settings from correctional facilities, to residential treatment and school-based therapy programs.
I look forward to beginning this journey with you!
I have been a Healing Arts practitioner for over 19 years in the fields of Hypnotherapy, Somatic Healing and Reiki. I cherish every person’s longing for growth, fulfillment, and meaning. For my own sense of fulfillment, I recently graduated with a Masters in Counseling Psychology with a Depth orientation from Pacifica Graduate Institute. I bring years of creative expression to the field of therapy and I have long-term experience working with children and adults alike, with an emphasis on somatic, mindful, and person-centered modalities to respond to depression, anxiety, trauma, loss and grief.
I am passionate about the conversation between differents parts of ourselves, and the dialogue between body, mind, and soul. I draw from the wisdom of myths and dream conversation to enrich the dialogue with clients, while shining the light on the here-and-now of the therapeutic encounter to facilitate meaningful and connective insights that can reverberate in my clients’ daily lives. I have particular expertise in bringing unconscious processes to consciousness to enable my clients to live their lives with a sense of choice, a choice that always happens in the here-and-now. I have experience working with clients at all stages of life, from young children to mature clients, and I bring my own life journey into the room. I have lived in several countries and I faciliate therapy in English, French, and Spanish, and I am always curious to expand my multicultural experience further, staying attentive to the complexities of diversity. I am passionate about communication and the mysterious balance of being in relationship with clients in the room, where listening, silence, and non verbal expression mean as much as words. I also believe in the importance of play for balance.
I see the therapeutic encounter as a collaborative human-to-human experience that grows in an atmosphere of empathy, mutual respect, and trust. I am LGTBQAA and BIPOC-affirmative. I worked in a large Bay Area agency with rich diversity for close to 2 years.
If you or your child is suffering from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, ADHD, the effect of trauma, grief, loss or a personality disorder, systemic oppression, I can help you develop skills in your present life aimed at restoring healthy and meaningful strategies in your daily experience.
Building rapport in an atmosphere of human empathy is essential to my practice. Call me to schedule a 10 minutes Q&A so we can determine together if I am a good fit for you.
Agnes (pronounced “Anyes”) Cartry-Jacobsen
Agnes Cartry-Jacobsen, AMFT - Associate Psychotherapist
Zina Petrov, LMFT - Psychotherapist
When we quiet our minds and open ourselves up to the possibilities and truth that are all around us, we can begin to see the beauty and intelligence even in the most misunderstood aspects of ourselves. Despite the pain and frustration that our struggles can bring, I believe that they are all intelligent attempts to survive. We can start to understand that our struggles are not weaknesses, but rather opportunities for growth and transformation. With love and awareness, we can change. We can learn to befriend all of our parts, even the ones that we may have previously rejected or denied.
To tailor my approach to each unique individual, I draw from a variety of modalities and frameworks, including Interpersonal Neurobiology, IFS, EMDR, Compassionate Inquiry, Mindfulness, DBT, and CBT, In addition, I am experienced in working with couples and utilize Emotionally Focused Therapy and General Systems Theory to help them navigate challenges and strengthen their relationships.
This is the journey that I am on, and it is one that I invite you to join me on as well. Together, we can explore the depths of our humanity, and discover the beauty and wisdom that lies within us. If you are looking for a therapist who will support you on your journey towards healing and growth, I invite you to reach out and schedule a consultation. Together, we can work towards a brighter, more fulfilling future.
Susan Schreier Williams, MA
With joy, humor, compassion and grace, I will guide you to release tensions, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. As you unwind, tension and anxiety dissolve and give way to free flowing energy and an overall sense of happiness and well-being. Learn to breathe more fully and freely and discover ease, comfort and balance in your body, mind and spirit. As you deeply relax on all levels, a simple, intimate, conscious relationship of trust in your body/mind continues to be revealed.
Natural healing of body, mind, and spirit are sourced from this conscious relationship with the breath. Using the Alexander Technique, and incorporating deep tissue work with more subtle, yet powerful, energy work, I help you relax into a deep stillness. Create a positive, effective relationship with your own natural healing.