Hi, I’m jamie.
I’m a somatic therapist in Oakland and online in California.
I have always loved understanding why we are the way we are and what makes us suffer. Even though it often feels like something wrong with us like “I’m bad,” “I’m lazy,” “I suck”... I don’t believe that. I believe we respond as best we can to the difficulties of life, and I believe we can feel better.
HOw i got here
My path here began most obviously as a teenager when I began to experience panic attacks and anxiety that made life feel unbearable. Looking back, it’s obvious that the seeds of those panic attacks had been planted long before, and the clues along the way were ignored until they could be no longer. For what felt like a long time, no one could figure out how to help or why it was happening. I felt so lost, alone and pretty terrible about myself. Therapy was a key piece of finally getting out of there. What helped the most was having this other person - my therapist - who felt emotionally safe and nonjudgmental and had ideas on how to help plus really wanting to.
Later in life, I started and continue long-term therapy. Through many years of commitment, I continue to strengthen a connection to myself and my voice. I have gained an understanding of what I went through as a teen and a chance to grieve what I endured throughout childhood.
The best ways I have learned to heal are through slowing down, checking in with my body, and exploring memories of my life that connect to how I feel in the present. Also, reconnecting to my human nature and the more-than-human world has been very healing.
I’m a human just like you working to be intentional and awake each day while also trying to show myself some compassion when I falter.
How I live out my passion.
I know what a difference therapy can make when you feel lost and alone.
I accompany folks in finding their way out.
I have a Master’s in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Somatic Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies. For more than 7 years, I have participated in supervision and consulation in somatic therapy, psychodynamic therapy and attachment-based therapy. I have training in trauma and shame.
Before starting my own private practice, I worked at Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center providing therapy to individuals. I also had 2 year-long internships: one at a Bay Area High School working with teens and the other at La Cheim Behavioral Health Services providing partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient services. I have conducted individual, family, and group therapy, including DBT and suicidal thoughts groups.
In my past life, I studied and worked in business. I cherished working hard alongside people I respected but after a handful of years, I was burnt out. I had to take a break and after some recovery time, I decided to follow what had always been my passion - psychology. I believed it would feel more meaningful to me and it would help me slow the pace of my life. I was right.
Outside the therapy space, I spend time being in nature, with loved ones, reading a lot of fiction and playing volleyball. I also am working to regain my focus and life away from technology and consumption, and find ways to participate in social justice work around the related dangers of systems of oppression and climate change.