Transgender Therapists in Berkeley, CA

I am a trans Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in working with trans, queer, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming teens and adults. I have a non-pathologizing approach and deeply value identities outside the "norm." I have fifteen years of experience as a mental health provider, including support groups with teens and adults, individual therapy, and crisis work. I am a Bay Area activist who has fought for transgender rights by organizing provider trainings and public demonstrations. I am a visual artist and storyteller who believes that underrepresented individuals expressing themselves creatively and authentically is powerful and important.

Do you want to be accepted just as you are rather than shamed or judged? Do you want a safe place to heal from trauma, explore your identity, or learn how to cope with stress? Therapy will give you the tools and resources to recover from trauma, resolve conflict and build intimacy in your relationships, develop effective communication skills, and manage anxiety. A safe therapeutic relationship will help you discover and articulate your authentic self, free of shame and guilt. Therapy can also help you unlearn harmful relationship patterns and be more kind to yourself. You are not alone!

Building relationships to last a lifetime! I work with * Individuals from all walks of life * Couples of all kinds - married, co-habitating, dating, divorced * Families of all sorts * Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their partners and families * People who are part of the kink community, or who participate in BDSM in their personal lives * People in open, non-monogamous, polyamorous, or other non-traditional relationships * Cross-cultural couples and families * Genderqueer folks * Current or former workers in the sex industry * People with body image and self-acceptance issues * People with all kinds of mental and physical health problems

Looking for a queer therapist? I specialize in working with queer, gay, bisexual, & transgender adults & adolescents in California. I am most passionate about providing advocacy for cultural and economic diversity in our community and serving LGBTQ+ people experiencing depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Engaging in therapy is more important than ever especially in response to our current political climate and recent backlash of conservative values showing incredible disrespect toward the LGBTQ+ community and throwing extra stress at immigrant populations and communities of Color.

I provide sex-positive therapy to individuals, relationships, and adult families. Most of my clients have non-mainstream sexual, gender, and/or relationship identities. Many identify as non-monogamous, are considering opening or creatively designing their relationship(s); I help them to create agreements, move through jealousy, heal from infidelities, build trust, and improve communication with partners and metamours. I work with queer, transgender, and nonbinary clients just beginning to question and explore their identities, and those who have been out for years and need therapy from a clinician familiar with queer issues.

As our world re-opens, many people are experiencing anxiety, depression, and stress due to recent social isolation and the unpredictability of the future. It can be a highly stressful time for people re-entering the world and for parents and teens. I provide individual adult therapy, teen/young adult therapy, and parent coaching. I am knowledgeable with non-traditional family structures (single parent, multiple caregiver, polyamorous, & LGBT families), transgender adolescent/child issues, anxiety, and neurodiversity . I’ve also begun working with the emotional effects of long Covid and chronic fatigue.

Living a life that feels true to ourselves may take additional support and understanding. Sometimes life becomes overwhelming, either because we are faced with trauma, loss, illness and other transitions, or because we are experiencing unexplained feelings that are keeping us in a stuck place. I would like to work together with you to help you better understand yourself and create the changes that you want to see in your life. My style is relational and authentic. I want you to feel supported and better able to become who you want to be. I use mindfulness and CBT when helpful.

Life can feel overwhelming, isolating, or riddled with anxiety and depression. Perhaps things feel stuck and you are seeking a change and want more out of life. Early adulthood is a particularly challenging time. It can be difficult to challenge the perceptions of the world shaped by our families and upbringing, while maintaining the shared connections and values. It is a time to explore racial, sexual, and gender identities. A task made more complicated when layered with neurodiversity, trauma, grief, or a life circumstance that makes you feel different. Therapy can offer a sense of insight, stability, and self-acceptance.

Are you or your middle school/high school age child needing the support of a gender specialist? Or are you an adult needing a LGBTQ+ affirming transgender/nonbinary therapist to support you in building greater resiliency and mental health? Welcome to my practice! I'm Dr. Townsend (he/him or they/them). I bring research, clinical, and lived experience to my work with the LGBTQ+ community. My approach combines tailored interventions, a warm interpersonal style, and fostering a safe and supportive environment to support you or your teen to reach greater authenticity and actualization.

Counseling, to me, is a collaborative space where clients are empowered to explore, find their own path, and work towards their goals. I’m a queer, neurodiverse counselor, and while I am especially passionate about discussing gender, sexuality, and neurodiversity with clients, I enjoy working on a variety of concerns with clients of any identity or experience. Therapy with me often includes building self-awareness, learning and practicing validation, and challenging oneself to make desired changes at a realistic pace.

It takes courage to start therapy. The very fact that you’re considering it probably means you’re getting ready to make some significant changes in your life. My approach to therapy focuses on understanding and accepting you as you are right now, and creating a safe space where you can figure out where you want to go from here. We’ll work together as you get ready to make the sometimes tough (and rewarding) changes that will give you a better life. As a therapist, I am guided by intuition as well as research, as reflected in my books "Eco-Anxiety and Pandemic Distress," "Eco-Anxiety and Planetary Hope," and "Transgender India."

Regardless of our histories, healing is possible. I know because I have experienced it myself & have accompanied people in untenable conditions deepen their awareness & access what they need to heal. I provide therapy for people who want to transform limiting beliefs & patterns, heal attachment trauma and abuse, navigate relationships & complex families, & take accountability for past harm. I support people to feel compassion for all parts of themselves & live with more resilience and joy. My clients are queer & transgender people, social justice organizers, survivors, people impacted by the legal system, addiction, and/or violence.

With compassion, presence and warmth, I am here to be your partner and guide on your growth journey. I partner with you to heal emotional trauma and gain self-acceptance through my specialized mind-body approach. I support you through healing limiting beliefs about yourself, developing excellent boundaries, and connecting with your inner-wisdom. You are unique and so is your therapy process, so we tailor our work together to your specific needs and goals. I serve empaths and highly sensitive people, supporting you in coming home to who you really are. Internal Family Systems. Somatic. LGBTQ+. Check out my TEDx talk via my website!

If you are an Autistic adult seeking autism-focused and neurodivergent affirming therapy, I will help you feel safe, supported, and heard with compassion. I am Autistic myself, which often enhances the therapy experience for my clients. Autism-focused therapy is informed by the neurodiversity affirming model to address your unique concerns by reducing autistic burnout, anxiety, depression, masking, the distress of meltdowns and shutdowns, low self-esteem, and difficulties with work or school performance, among many other concerns. I also welcome your authentic self and support my LGBTQIA+, transgender, non-binary, and BIPOC clients.

Do you need relief from anxiety or depression? Are you and your partner fighting and trying to move forward together? I often help people who are exactly where you are. A collaborative, focused relationship with a caring professional can be a life-changing experience. I have a goal oriented and interactive style, and my goal is always to help you move forward - at your own pace - with ease and acceptance. Check out my website and call for a phone consultation to see if I'd be a good fit for you.

In my San Francisco based private practice I focus on an array of issues including depression, anxiety, postpartum depression, parenting support, trauma, work stress, relationship issues, substance abuse, transgender and gender non-binary support, and counseling for issues related to fertility including IVF support. Too often I work with individuals who have waited until the point of crisis to reach out for help, and relief can start much earlier! With empathy, sensitivity, and humor, my goal is to create a space in which to build the therapeutic relationship while cultivating a happier and healthier sense of self and wellbeing.

I enjoy working with LGBTQIA+ individuals and community from rural areas, as someone who understands the experience of isolation and judgment. I have a warm, soulful, collaborative, empathic, non-judgmental approach to therapy. My goal is to help individuals find their inner voice and truth, heal from new and old wounds, and repair interpersonal conflict with their loved ones. I work with all genders, LGBTQ+, gender expansive clients. Individual, family therapy, couples therapy, sex therapy. Accepting new clients virtually. I am also accepting supervisees currently registered with the BBS.

Institutional and systemic oppression, intergenerational trauma, and interpersonal harms can leave us feeling battered and broken. Isolation, community degradation, and cut off from the body and the natural world can leave us unsupported and under-resourced. In my work I seek to help people regulate their nervous systems, overcome the shame of having been harmed, and re/connect with a broader network of support. I'm passionate about accompanying people through their journey of identity development, whether that be gender, sexuality, neurodivergence, or whatever identity is emerging. I hope to help you step into your authentic self.

You feel isolated, misunderstood...lonely. You’ve been told you’re “too much,” “too sensitive,” or “intense.” You feel frozen in profound suffering. You feel that no one has seen the real you and have a sense that there are parts of yourself that maybe you haven’t seen. Hiding yourself has become unbearable, but you don’t know where to start or who to go to for help making sense of your complex inner world and experiences. We can be deeply wounded in relationships, past and current, but it is also in relationships that we find healing.