I specialize in using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in the treatment of anxiety disorders, depression and bipolar disorder. CBT helps people change their relationship to those thoughts that are not helpful to buy into. Some of these thoughts may include “I am worthless”, “I am inadequate”, “I am less than”, or “I am a failure”. CBT teaches people to take more effective actions to improve their life. CBT can help you stop procrastinating and act on what is important to you, learn to assert yourself more, to do more for yourself, or do the things you have been avoiding because they have made you anxious.
I also use a form of CBT called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a psychotherapy that teaches people skills and gives them tools to help them better manage their anxiety, depression, mood swings, and stress. Often, you are taught specific techniques to deal with those thoughts that are having a significant impact on your feelings. We also work on dealing with those emotions that show up that give you difficulty. In addition, there is also an emphasis on developing more helpful behavioral patterns. CBT and ACT have been extensively researched and have found to be very helpful for many people.
I take an active and collaborative approach in my work. Usually between sessions there are assignments, an important aspect of CBT, and this can enhance your progress.
License:
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (California) LCS 5535
Marriage, Family Counselor (California) MZ 015442
Experience:
My relevant work experience includes doing psychotherapy at the San Francisco Community Mental Health services, Contra Costa Mental Health services and at Kaiser Permanente. I was an affiliate for the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy. I have been in private practice since the 1980s.
Education:
Fordham University, New York, New York
Master’s Degree in Social Services
Hunter College, New York, New York
Bachelor’s Degree of Arts, Major: Psychology
Professional Memberships:
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy
Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy
Obsessive Compulsive Foundation
Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS)
California Society for Clinical Social Workers
National Association for Social Workers
To schedule an appointment please call (510) 494-0328.
You can also contact me via email.
If you have any comments regarding my blog please send them to my email address.
Insurance coverage:
If you have a PPO, it is likely that they would reimburse you for some of your payment for my services as an out of network provider.
There is a sliding scale available.
My offices are located in the East Bay:
2258 Santa Clara Avenue, Suite 4
Alameda, CA. 94501
5435 College Avenue, Suite 102
Oakland, CA. 94618
2450 Peralta Boulevard, Suite 212
Fremont, CA. 94536
Concerning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
It has been along time since there has been a new posting on anxiety on this web site. I apologize to you for this and hope that they will come on a steady basis again. I am still in practice treating anxiety and depressive disorders. I continue to practice in the cities of Oakland and Fremont, California. Anxiety is something that every human experiences. It is part of our basic makeup. The problems come in when we have significant difficulty in coping with it. That is, difficulty in coping with the thoughts, images or scary pictures that underlay the anxiety. In ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy, a form of CBT or Cognitive Behavioral therapy) we work on how to defuse, or back off, from buying into these worries. We also recognize that a major part of problemic anxiety is how much we struggle with the feelings or sensations that come along with the anxiety. If you are struggling with anxiety and want to try the type of psychotherapy I use and send me an e mail....
Learn MoreDo you overthink or suffer from Rumination? Now there is a new type of therapy called Rumination focused CBT. I just received training in this. In my view it treats overthinking, worrying and rumination as a behavior. The idea is that it is something you learned earlier in life that now has become a habit. Like any type of habit it could be reversed although that may not be as easy as we may want it to be but not impossible. I am sorry I have not written for awhile but I was dealing with an illness. In the future I will discuss more around the issues of overthinking as well as coping with a serious illness. Thank you all for your patience....
Learn MoreManaging physical pain by using Behavioral techniques that may include CBT and ACT can help in coping with it better. It certainly is very important to have the pain evaluated by a medical doctor. Managing it on a psychological basis can both involve dealing with the thoughts that come with pain as well as the acceptance of the pain sensations. Thoughts like this is going to last forever or I will be miserable forever are actually not helpful to get hooked to although your mind produces them. It is important to realize that not everything the mind tells you is helpful. If you buy into the thoughts that are previously listed then you will feel terrible. If you learn to change your relationship to these thoughts you may not like the sensations of pain you feel but you may not feel so hopeless and...
Learn MoreCoping with relationship stress varies according to what the issues are. In my practice it seems to me often that people are stressed in their relationship because their are communication problems in their relationship. If we could stay on top of this by using good communication skills then it is possible to have a better relationship and feel better as well. I often recommend the book The Feeling Good Handbook by Dr. David Burns. It not only offers great material on learning Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) but also has what I believe are excellent chapters on building communication...
Learn MoreDealing with a loss may become complicated. This may happen in at least two ways: how you cope with your emotions and how you cope with your thoughts. Today’s blog will focus on coping with emotions. Losing someone or a pet or property can be sad and painful. If you try to avoid feeling these painful emotions they are likely going to haunt you. So it would be helpful to practice the acceptance of these emotions and the sensations that come with them. Feel and observe them. It can be really helpful, if you believe this, to remind yourself they are in a better place and feel that strong positive emotion that comes with it. But don’t chase that feeling at the expense of avoiding the negative...
Learn MoreI have tip of the week for coping with worry. That is, try postpone getting hooked to a worry to a better time of day that you could allow 15 minutes so you could worry all you want about that worry or additional worries can be added to this 15 minutes.
Learn More