Relationship Issues Therapists in Oakland, CA

I enjoy being a psychotherapist because it provides me the opportunity to help people resolve the issues that are causing them distress. I work with adults, children, and families, and understand that each person is a unique individual with his or her unique life circumstances, history, and social and cultural context. A goal of our work together will be to help you identify and understand the conflicts that may be causing you difficulty, and to help you overcome them. Or perhaps negative thinking patterns cause you to experience sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, fear, or other unwanted emotions.

Sometimes the belief that you will find the right therapist and get through difficulties feels so far away. Depression and anxiety can complicate your efforts to reach out and begin the process of telling your story. I am here to listen to your story and collaborate with you to get past hardships and make realistic and sustainable changes. I have an interactive style which helps to draw out the difficult parts and ground you in your pursuit of a more fulfilling life. Thank you for visiting and please let me know if you’d like to talk for a bit first in order to see if I could be of help. For more info please visit NicoleLaby.com

As a marriage and family therapist I create a safe and compassionate space so you can address unhealed wounds and access the part of you that knows how to heal, so that resilience and a way forward can be found, and self-esteem and self-confidence built. My experiential and embodied approach to psychotherapy can help you unearth the roots of inner conflict, discover inner reservoirs of wisdom, and heal unresolved trauma and emotional wounding.

Choosing a therapist involves mind, heart and spirit as well as commitment, time and money. With over thirty-five years of experience, I know that doing the work of psychotherapy is a unique privilege, so thank you for your interest in my practice.

My approach is collaborative and active. I balance making therapy challenging at times, yet playful enough so that you will want to come back. My clients say this therapy-on-the-move is easier than a traditional sit-on-a-couch scenario in which the confinement of the room can get in the way of the work. I think for some people — especially teens & young adults — the idea of sitting in a room with a therapist is antithetical to being in a space that is good for sharing tough stuff. All that said, the outdoor work is *part* of the practice, roughly 30% of our time may consist of online sessions.

You're on a quest for self-understanding, grappling with perfectionism, inner conflict, and the challenge of showing up for yourself with love. You're spiritually attuned, highly sensitive, or neurodivergent, seeking a therapeutic journey that embraces and explores these integral parts of your identity. Your goal? To navigate life's transitions with grace and to reclaim your narrative with empowerment and authenticity. As a holistic spiritual therapist and certified astrologer, I specialize in guiding you through life's transitions and personal awakenings.

I am accepting clients for my Dialectical Behavior Therapy program. Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a very effective treatment that helps you build a worthwhile and fulfilling life. You accept that you suffer, but also you learn to accept that you want to get better. I will help you to train your mind and body to peacefulness, and to significantly decrease every day stress. Combining distress tolerance practice, mindfulness skill building, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness skill building, I will guide you to heal the effects of trauma, depression and anxiety and replace that with establishing well-being.

My approach emphasizes respect, transparency, authenticity, and collaboration. I believe that most problems exert their influence on people by blinding them to their own strengths, resources and potential solutions. Problems can saturate people's lives in complex and expansive ways. As a curious outsider with training and experience, I work with clients to debunk dysfunctional assumptions, and to challenge problem-inspired patterns. It's an honor to witness and support clients, as they practice living more consistently with their articulated values and goals, progressing towards more preferred ways of being.

If you are experiencing stress responses related to trauma, grief, relationship (interpersonal and intimate) breakdown, divorce, family conflict, or existential crisis, then my training and lived experience makes me your ideal therapist. In my practice I provide a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental therapeutic space for self-care, emotional healing, and mental wellness to be actualized. With cultural humility as my underpinning, I will follow your lead and utilize your strengths to assist you in achieving your therapeutic objectives.

I create a trusting and safe space for your child to express their thoughts and feelings, without judgment, and I will normalize their experiences and help you have a deeper understanding of what your child is going through. We will work together collaboratively. You as parents are the expert on your child and family. I am there as a support and facilitator- making the first step in asking for help is the most crucial step in the journey of repairing.

I believe that as human beings, we are hard-wired with the need to get our emotional experience into the mind of a trusted other. My work as a psychotherapist is to find emotional resonance with my clients' life experiences, deriving both from their family of origin and from present-day situations and relationships. Whether a client is depressed, anxious, struggling with relationship problems, trying to overcome traumatic experiences, or trying to find their own unique, personal voice in a complex world, talking in psychotherapy can help to expand your capacity for growth and happiness.

I provide a warm, supportive environment that is uniquely yours, dedicated to your life and development. We will pay close attention to your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, helping you to better understand all the different parts of yourself. Together we will identify and explore the patterns of behavior and negative self perceptions that may hold you back from a life of balance, vitality and inner peace.

My work as a therapist is grounded in trauma-informed, feminist, and attachment based principles that highlight the importance of safe and trusting relationships. I am here to provide attuned feedback and guidance as you navigate sex and love, anxiety, grief and loss, the ongoing effects of childhood trauma, unlearning codependency and strengthening or softening boundaries. My goal is to help you develop tools for self-awareness, resiliency and intimacy building, and conflict resolution. I believe deeply in the power of healing work, and the great courage it takes to turn inward, to turn toward pain, and to face and love ourselves.

I aim to create a space where you feel recognized, understood, and safe enough to explore whatever pain or experience you need help with. My style is warm, collaborative, and compassionate. I use an individualized approach and tailor my interventions to your unique and specific needs. I combine down to earth, practical support with a depth-oriented approach focused on symptom relief and shifting long-standing patterns that have gotten in the way. I also focus on creating a strong therapeutic relationship in which each person I work with feels heard and understood.

Individuals who have experienced sexual trauma can often find themselves feeling isolated, lonely and questioning their own experience. We can often carry our sexual trauma internally, not feeling safe to share our experiences with others, seeking therapy is a big step in your healing journey. Healing from sexual trauma, whether you are newly looking to explore what has happened to you or you have been working through your experiences for years and are wanting to move to reclaiming your full self, I offer a space based on safety, respect, and authenticity where your healing journey can naturally begin to unfold.

The world needs helpers, just like you. But when your life gets stressful and overwhelming, where do you turn? You nurture others. You put your heart into your relationships and your work, but sometimes it starts to feel like it's too much. Like you're exhausted and unable to take some time for yourself.

Being in therapy is a creative process of self-discovery where your whole self is welcome, just as you are. As I join you by making room for what’s hard to say or what has never been spoken, you may feel transformations in what once felt frozen in place. The space we hold for your words in therapy is enlivening, and often leads to deep insights and relief from painful psychological symptoms toward engaging in life more fully. I see individuals and couples who are seeking relief from ongoing conflicts, experience issues with sexuality and intimacy, or who want to find their way back to who they really are beyond shame and guilt.

Whatever you’re experiencing, I hope to walk the line of being a support to you in your experience and by your side, while also, empathetically being a source of information that can provide evidence based practices as well as an experiential framework to help you get what you want. I plan on taking an awareness-based approach. I want to build your awareness so you can make more informed decisions. I want to co-create an environment that allows you to bring your whole self to therapy so that you can heal and grow.

Unpleasant, earlier life experiences often cause mental & emotional scars. Overcoming emotional pain or the effects of generational attachment trauma can feel daunting. I focus on the challenges that Black people & other POC face when approaching relationships, as well as challenges experienced in the workplace. Because the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives, both at home & at work. In my work with relationships, I use my understanding of any past experiences of each partner that may be negatively impacting the relationship, as well as any repeated interactional patterns that cause pain to one another.