Therapy and Brainspotting for adults in lafayette/the San Francisco Bay Area
and online across California
A warm and compassionate space to find healing when navigating the unexpected
Life is throwing some complicated and unexpected challenges your way right now.
As a “giver” you’ve always been there for your family and friends when they’ve needed you.
Perhaps you naturally went into a helping profession dedicated to caring for others. You work all day and then come home at night to give more to your family. Everyone counts on you. All the time. Up until now that’s worked for you. Being someone who others can turn to for support often felt meaningful.
But what happens when…
Something surprising and unexpected happens—you or a loved one receives a scary, medical diagnosis or parenting feels endlessly exhausting and isolating…and you suddenly are unable to show up and give anymore?
You try to be everything to everyone and end up feeling constantly irritable or sad?
You appear to have it together on the outside but often secretly wonder how to make it through the next minute, hour or day with that constant weight on your chest?
You find yourself constantly wishing you could just run away from it all?!
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Hearing the words “you have cancer” felt shocking and surreal. You had so much information thrown at you and had to make treatment decisions and set up appointments and scans more quickly than your brain could possibly process it it all. Going through surgeries, chemo, radiation or other treatments can feel isolating and scary even when surrounded by the people who love you. Protecting and caretaking others while going through all this can leave you without the space needed to process what’s happening for you.
Or maybe you’ve been on this road for awhile and are just now coming up for air. You may have landed here with the hope that talking with someone outside your immediate circle might help. Or it might feel overwhelmingly difficult to find the words to describe what going through all this has been like for you.
As a longtime oncology social worker, I’ve walked the path with many people desiring the time and space to figure out what they need for healing-physically, emotionally and existentially.
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Parenthood is a wild ride. In the span of ten minutes you can feel it all- thrilled and full of love and terrified and exhausted and overwhelmed. Whether you are a new parent navigating the exhausting postpartum days, find yourself feeling overstimulated and “touched out” at the end of a day with your toddler or feel isolated while constantly advocating for a child with special needs - therapy can provide a space for honestly exploring what is happening for you and figuring out what actually helps on a daily basis.
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If you are waking up in the morning with a sense of dread right now-please know that you are not alone. The world feels very heavy. Trauma, anxiety and sadness often show up in some way in the body -from stomach aches to chest tightness to headaches and everything in between. We can get curious about these feelings and sensations -without judgment and with great care and compassion. And we can figure out how to help you find relief in both mind and body.
Hi-I’m Ilana
You deserve a warm, thoughtful and dedicated space to find real healing.
I know it can feel daunting to start the search for a therapist you feel like you can actually connect with. I approach this meaningful and sacred work with warmth and gentleness. We begin wherever you are ready to and move at a pace that feels right to you. My goal is to help you discover what you need to find healing-whatever that looks and feels like for you.