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Clinical Director of California
Alex (she/her/hers) was born and raised in the Bay Area. Alex attended San Francisco State University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies with an emphasis in Conflict Resolution and minored in Human Sexuality Studies. Alex went on to receive her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from the University of San Francisco. Alex began her work as a therapist by providing individual and group therapy to adults and adolescents at a small non-profit counseling center. From there, she moved on to a residential treatment center as a primary therapist. In this role Alex worked with adolescents, young adults, and their families as an individual and family therapist. Next, Alex transitioned into community mental health, again doing individual, group, and family therapy. Alex has worked at high schools, providing support for students and their families. In addition to this, she worked with the juvenile justice system providing group therapy for adolescents.
When Alex is not working, she enjoys spending time with friends and family and eating great food in the city.
Angela (she/her) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specialized in working with children, adolescents and families. When Angela chose University of San Francisco to get her Master’s degree, she was inspired by their emphasis on Social Justice and was eager to give back to the community. Angela chose internship programs and employment positions that served youth and families in the Bay Area. She has worked in School-Based and Community-Based positions, with youth and families navigating the challenges of foster care and family reunification, as well as in a group private practice treating severe Anxiety Disorders and Mood Disorders.
Through her years of experience in the field, Angela has found that she is passionate about working with Trauma. She enjoys learning more and more about the brain and the connection between mind and body, to help her clients reintegrate and heal. In addition, Angela believes that working with the family and/or support system is crucial when working with children and adolescents. Angela’s approach is to meet each client exactly where they are at and support them in finding their motivation for change and growth. She also uses play and art therapy techniques when working with children, as children communicate through play. As a coach/mentor, Angela will practice non-judgement and hold a safe space to explore any and all ideas that her client envisions for their growth and well-being, and be a guide to help them achieve it.
Laurel (she/her/hers) grew up in the Bay Area and Sierra Nevada mountains. After earning a Bachelors in literature, creative writing and dance from UC Santa Cruz, she embarked on a career of service and teaching. Laurel volunteered in Nepal and India, worked as a naturalist throughout California (and even got to train a Great Horned Owl named Zeus!) and led experiential education expeditions in the Amazon jungle.
These experiences informed her work as the international internship coordinator for a gap year program where she helped students to discover their unique interests, skills and passions, preparing them for the next steps on their academic and personal journeys. This work inspired Laurel to pursue a Masters in Social Work at San Diego State University where she completed extensive research on the impacts of increased screen use on mental health.
Laurel has served as a play therapist with children, supported families experiencing homelessness, and worked as a therapist at the community college level offering individual, couples, and family therapy, as well as leading groups on healthy relationships, grief and loss, and mindfulness and meditation.
As a therapist, Laurel works from a strengths-based, client-centered model, helping the client to discover their inner resilience and power to continually grow and transform their relationship with their friends, family, community, and themselves.
When Laurel is not supporting her clients to make impactful change in their lives, you can find her hiking with her sweet rescue dog Stella Luna, reading, camping, or drinking a delicious smoothie in the sunshine somewhere beautiful.
Annie Egan (she/her) has spent more than 18 years working with teens and their families in independent schools as a Director of Student Support, School Counselor, College Counselor, and private coach. Through her breadth of experience, she recognizes the impact of surroundings (family, friends, educational landscape) on an individual’s mental health and the interplay between them. Rooted in a deep foundational knowledge of adolescent development and with a lens of compassion, her work focuses on creating effective systems, enhancing communication, and honing decision making skills. Annie received her BA from Duke University and her Masters in Counseling Psychology from University of San Francisco, completing her training in Bay Area high schools.
As a fifth generation Californian, being outside enjoying everything our Golden State has to offer is a huge part of my identity. I grew up in Huntington Beach, and moved to San Francisco when to attended UC Berkeley, Go Bears! The Bay Area has been Home ever since, and awakened my passion and appreciation for diversity and my social justice work toward improving equality for all. On my path through life I have been an elementary school educator, a den leader, space commander of a STEM education program in a space simulator to Mars, directed and run science based FUN outdoor summer camp programs, had an artisan soup business, and am now writing a dissertation toward my PsyD, Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Since working in psychology I have been an advocate in both domestic violence and child abuse prevention, a parent educator in healthy relationships, and skill building in emotional intelligence for divorcing/separating parents, and worked with moderate to severe mental health issues for trauma impacted youth and adults in school-based, community mental health, in home, and residential programs. My training has included interesting training opportunities which include psychological evaluation in education, SSI, ADHD, and for asylum seekers, I have run groups in the Bayview, and in shelters, spoken at Mercy High School for V-Day on healthy relationships, I served on the California Psychological Association Ethics Committee, and I have worked with leading trauma professionals who have literally written the books on how to do trauma healing work with clients. I work from a psychodynamic and systems approach to collaboratively work alongside my clients on their path toward feeling whole.
For self care I am generally outside, adventuring and exploring all year, hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, surfing, camping, at a music festival, or I am cooking something delectable for my loved ones at home, listening to some great music, in between mindful moments.
Chelsea is a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) in California, and an LMSW (Licensed Masters Social Worker) in New York. While pursuing a dual degree in psychology and social welfare at UC Berkeley, Chelsea mentored high schoolers in academic advising and preparing for college. Upon graduation, Chelsea began working with children and families, providing interventions to strengthen and support caregivers and youth. Chelsea then returned to her alma mater to pursue a Masters in Social Work, and transitioned to working with families in the medical setting. Chelsea appreciates hearing client’s stories, meeting them with empathy, and employing a trauma-informed, strength-based lens.
Katrina Gale, an associate marriage and family therapist, was born and raised in Marin County and has a deep love for the beauty and magic of Northern California. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern University, majoring in Communication Studies. Katrina spent 3 years as a preschool teacher in the Bay Area and gained experience with Montessori and play-based theories. She then decided to pursue her love of helping others through communication and enrolled in the University of San Francisco’s Marriage and Family Therapy Program, graduating with her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. For her program’s practicum, Katrina was a school counselor at an elementary school in Marin.
Ryan was born in San Francisco and raised in Belmont. Following Saint Ignatius College Preparatory Ryan left the Bay Area and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Washington, Seattle. After college, Ryan returned to the Bay Area and gained considerable experience working in mental health facility settings with diverse populations, such as at-risk youth and adults. Ryan earned his Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University. He is currently registered as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) and on track to becoming licensed in the next year. Over the past three years Ryan has worked as a school-based therapist at Columbia Middle School, Mountain View High School, and Palo Alto High School. Ryan’s passion for working with youth is unwavering, and he plans to continue working with this population in some capacity for the rest of his career. In Ryan’s free time, he enjoys playing soccer and basketball and lifting weights.
Stacey (she/her) is a Bay Area native born and raised in San Jose. She received her undergraduate degree in Communication Studies from Santa Clara University and went on to have a fulfilling 9-year career in philanthropy facilitating grantmaking to many national and Bay Area nonprofits. Throughout all that time, she felt a strong pull to work more directly in a helping profession, and so she completed her Master’s in Counseling Psychology with a Marriage and Family Therapy emphasis from the University of San Francisco. She has experience working in community agency settings providing mental health services to a diverse population of children, adolescents, and families facing a variety of mental health challenges. She approaches this work by striving to see the whole person and the whole story, pulling from several theoretical approaches because she believes in tailoring therapy to meet the client wherever they are at mentally and emotionally.
When she is not doing this privileged mental health work, she enjoys recharging her batteries by hiking, road tripping to not-too-far-away places, cooking, and spending time with my rescue dog, Stella.
Brian (he/him) has a background in clinical psychology and adolescent medicine studying at the university of Washington. He enjoys working with children, young adults, and teens. Having experience in working with depression, PTSD, anxiety, stress, and other trauma related disorders. When working with clients he tends to utilize DBT with elements of CBT and other strength-based approaches. He also tailors each session to the client’s specific needs while allowing them to be the expert in the room. combining approaches with certain elements of existential-humanistic treatment modalities.
In his free time, he loves to travel & explore different cultures in different countries, also trying new food suggested by social media food reviewers is a new favorite hobby.
As a father he prides himself on community, the betterment of his own mental health as well as others. Living by the motto “Be apart of the change you want to see in the world.”
Erica(she/her) grew up in New Jersey. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Art from Caldwell University and a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, specializing in art therapy from Lesley University. Erica began her work in community mental health providing in-home therapy to children and adolescents. She gained experience with group art therapy with adolescents and young adults. From there, she moved to a group practice as a clinical therapist, supporting children, adolescents, and young adults. Erica has experience in treating individuals with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and low self-esteem using an eclectic approach including cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness techniques, and expressive art therapy. She uses humor and compassion to connect with her clients, creating a safe space to explore thoughts and emotions. Erica believes in collaboration to help clients work toward their goals.
When she’s not working, Erica loves dancing, exploring the Bay Area through food and hiking, and playing with her dog Cooper!
Davis (he/him) was the first of his family born in the United States. He is a proud banana slug alumni from U.C. Santa Cruz where his passion for nature and psychology began. Shortly after, he started his clinical journey through service to families impacted by childhood autism as an ABA therapist and Early Interventionist. This eventually led to his pursuit for a Psy.D in clinical psychology where he has been serving children, families, and couples in Bay Area communities dealing with interpersonal and emotional distress.
As a child that has grown up surrounded by violence and comes from a family history impacted by war, Davis prioritizes creating safe spaces as the foundation for any healing relationship. He has found that taking a relational approach to others in counseling and therapy sets the relationship to be more engaging, insightful, and healing. In supplement to talk therapy, he emphasizes the expression of a person’s intersectional identities through many different forms of art and play therapy. As he aims to finish his doctoral degree, Davis is currently completing his thesis on the experience of meaning making on relationships and personal development in adults who are actively involved and passionate about video games. Aside from being a video game enthusiast, he also finds pleasure in curating music playlists for all his vibes while sipping on home brewed coffee.
Carsten Fisher has a Master’s of Science in Behavioral Psychology and is experienced in working with populations diagnosed with an array of mental health challenges, and is a passionate harm reductionist and educator. Carsten has been a student of psychedelic-assisted healing modalities and integration practices, and his passion is grounded in the service of Black & non-Black persons of color, and LGBTQIA+ communities – prioritizing accessibility & equity, and community-centered harm reduction. Currently, Carsten is a group facilitator for Integrative Psychiatry Institute’s Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training Program, and is a psychedelic consultant, integration practitioner, and educator. In his spare time, Carsten likes to rock climb, play tennis, study philosophy, write, read fantasy novels, and spend time with friends and family.