Ananda M. Patterson, Psy.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist PSY35118
Therapy for Individuals of All Ages, Families, and Relationships
My practice is dedicated to fostering healing through warm, relational therapy. I welcome clients from all backgrounds and walks of life, with a special focus on members of the LGBTQIA+ community, those in trauma recovery, and those navigating disability or neurodiversity.
Healing Through Connection
Enduring healing happens within supportive relationships, and my work as a therapist is first and foremost relational. I work to create a therapeutic space that fosters trust and human connection. Within this space we can engage in compassionate exploration of lifelong patterns of belief and behaviors, the impacts of trauma and stigma, relationship and intimacy concerns, identity intersections, life transitions, and issues stemming from aging, disability, and/or chronic pain.
I work integratively, honoring and exploring the ways our past experiences shape each of us, drawing connections between past and present to illuminate patterns while actively supporting your power to heal and change the course of your life and relationships.
I engage authentically with my clients, welcoming their shadows as well as their shiny parts. I incorporate humor, metaphor, art, play, and imagery to bring creativity to the healing process. I offer talk therapy grounded in contemporary relational psychodynamic theory. I incorporate the science of neurobiology, attachment, attunement and co-regulation, and parts work.
I welcome children, adolescents, and adult clients who are wrestling with depression, anxiety, complex trauma/PTSD, ADHD, and many other mental health challenges, as well as those who simply feel ready to engage in deeper exploration of their identity, needs, and goals.
I am particularly invested in working with our LGBTQIA+ community, especially those who identify as genderqueer, nonbinary, trans, or polyamorous. I am supportive of clients from all walks of life, including those who practice kink. I also support sex workers and others who may feel marginalized by social strictures. Many of my clients are coping with chronic trauma, chronic pain, physical disability, and/or caring for family members.
Individuals
Individual therapy enables us to create a private space where we can nurture trust, safety, and courage within which healing flourishes even after the deepest traumas. I welcome clients seeking personal growth and insight, as well as those coping with significant mental health challenges. Individual therapy can benefit people of all ages, and I welcome people as young as five and as old as you may become.
Children communicate their deepest feelings and experiences through play, so I offer an enriched environment with a sand tray, abundant toys and figurines, and many arts and crafts to help younger clients express themselves and explore in whatever way works best.
Families
Family can form the heart of who we are and how we live. Working together as a family opens doors to understanding shared and individual areas of growth and struggle. Family therapy deepens connections and communication and untangles the often unconscious ways family members get caught up in struggle. I welcome families of all configurations, including parents and children; adult siblings; families working through divorce, separation, and co-parenting; non-traditional families; and all the variations therein. However your family is constructed, therapy can help it thrive.
Relationships, Couples & Polycules
Relationships are among the most rewarding things in life, but can also be the most challenging. Relationship work focuses on strengthening bonds, resolving conflicts, and nurturing intimacy and connection through improved communication and deepened mutual understanding of core needs, attachment styles, areas of wounding, and shared dreams and goals. I support clients in traditional relationships as well as those exploring polyamory, ethical nonmonogamy, and other ways of building meaningful and enduring connections.
I offer sessions in person, via telehealth, or both as desired.
Pets are welcome in the office.
Location
The quiet hillside village of Kensington borders on El Cerrito, Albany, and North Berkeley. It is a short drive from downtown Berkeley (3 miles from campus), Richmond (5 miles), Oakland (8 miles from Lake Merritt), and Orinda (9 miles). It's also reasonably convenient to Walnut Creek (16 miles) and Danville (21 miles) via CA-24.
My spacious, light-filled office is nestled above the local grocery, set alongside small independent shops that can enhance your visit with brunch and gourmet goods.
©Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.
(925) 695-7409
AnandaPattersonTherapy@gmail.com
281 Arlington Avenue, Ste. A, Kensington CA 94707
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