In-person and online action-oriented therapy in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout California
We're not your mother’s shrink
Relationships make life worthwhile — they’re also hard.
If you’re here, you probably feel stuck and frustrated with the relationships in your life (or the lack thereof!). Maybe you’ve thought more than once, Geez, I really need a therapist! Yet something’s held you back — you may wonder whether therapy can actually help you.
You're not alone if you doubt that just talking about your problems will help. And your concerns are valid!
Perhaps you've tried therapy before but were disappointed with the results. Sure, your therapist was nice and all. And yes – it felt good to let off steam once a week. But for all that talking, you never saw a significant change outside of sessions.
Or maybe you’ve known people who’ve gone to therapy for years but seem none the wiser. Regardless of how much insight they have about their childhood or attachment style, they’re stuck repeating the same dysfunctional patterns. You may worry that you, too, will use therapy as a (very expensive) crutch, one that actually stops you from taking positive actions in your life.
If the word "therapy" conjures images of laying on a couch, free-associating to a horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing, neutral-faced therapist several days a week, we get it. But thankfully psychotherapy looks much different than it did 50 or even 20 years ago. Because oodles of research have revealed that simply talking isn't enough — we also need to set goals and get into action to effect real, lasting change.
That's why our team of intimacy-obsessed clinicians combine action-oriented approaches with traditional talk therapy to ensure you’re actually making progress. For example:
We coach couples to use research-backed communication skills that predictably diffuse arguments and improve intimacy.
Our socially anxious clients build confidence through exposure therapy, or gently and gradually facing fears that their comfort zone expands.
Mock dates and detailed online dating assessments give our chronically single clients the honest feedback they need to finally unblock their path to love.
Our neurodivergent clients — our autistics, ADHDers, anxious folx, etc. — learn how to build the connections they crave through neurodiversity-affirming social and dating skills training.
We help highly sensitive trauma survivors finally feel safe with other humans using mind-body approaches — because talking about what happened is important but not enough.
We use improvisation, role-playing, and other drama therapy techniques to teach shy singles how to flirt and otherwise date joyfully.
We love being fired! We know we’ve done our job when you show up in session saying “I am doing so well that I don’t need therapy anymore!”
How in-person or online experiential therapy in California works
Through in-person or online experiential therapy, you can take risks and learn how to relate skillfully from the comfort of your home.
Your therapist will meet with you in their secure video office, which you can access through your computer, cell phone, or another mobile device.
Our clients generally attend weekly 50-minute sessions. We recommend you commit to the process for at least 8 weeks so that you and your therapist can fully explore and start working through your concerns. Within a couple of sessions, our clients typically see small but noticeable improvements.
During your private sessions, your therapist will talk, listen, and get you into action where appropriate. They’ll teach you vital skills, give honest feedback, and find creative ways to help you learn through doing.
Your therapist will bring their hardwon wisdom from spending years (if not decades) helping people like you to improve their relationships. They’ll engage actively in the process by sharing what works (or doesn’t) when it comes to connecting with other humans. In addition, they’ll use experiential as well as evidence-based approaches to help you develop vital relationship skills.
We believe that insight + action = change, so we’re dedicated to finding creative ways for you to implement everything you’re learning.
Here’s how experiential therapy will work, step by step:
Your therapist will create a warm, non-judgmental space so that you feel comfortable sharing the hard things.
As you share, your therapist will listen intently and ask questions so that they have a complete picture of your challenges and hopes.
Together, you’ll set concrete goals and identify clear, manageable steps you can take to build the relationships you yearn for. This roadmap will include actions you can take with your therapist’s help and outside of sessions.
Next, your therapist will help you with more urgent concerns, such as managing painful feelings and difficult relationships. That means they’ll not only listen compassionately but also give you practical, simple tools to use immediately.
While your therapist helps you address urgent matters, they’ll begin teaching you evidence-based interpersonal skills and relational neuroscience practices to help you connect with others easily.
Once more pressing issues are resolved, sessions will shift to focus on your longer-term relationship goals. Your therapist will use action-oriented approaches such as drama therapy, mindfulness-based approaches, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) to help you gain a new perspective. With more insight, you’ll be freed up to build joyful, healthy relationships.
In addition, your therapist will happily roll up their sleeves and get messy with you—they’ll use role-play, communication coaching, social and dating skills training, and online dating reviews—anything that will help you move beyond insight to real change.
Your therapist will cheer you on throughout the process, honoring you for your courage and resilience. We’ll also encourage you to take breaks and celebrate. We know the importance of balancing challenge with encouragement and hard work with rest.
Your therapist will remain flexible, designing sessions to meet your unique and ever-changing needs.
Over the course of your sessions, you will start progressing toward the relationships and life you desire.
Can’t make it in person and worried that online therapy won’t be effective?
It’s normal to worry about the efficacy of online experiential therapy. Thankfully, science (along with our clinical experience) shows that teletherapy is as helpful as face-to-face sessions.
Research also indicates that online experiential sessions can improve your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Action-oriented teletherapy can help you move through stuck points and break the nightmarish patterns that keep you from building the friendships, romantic relationships, and community you crave.
Our team has been offering video and phone sessions to clients since 2010. Our clinicians are highly skilled at offering action-oriented approaches even at a distance.
Let’s Get Started
Ready to start feeling better?
If you long for satisfying, close connections but don’t know how to build them, in-person or online experiential therapy could help.
Here's how it works: fill out an application and request a time for a free 30-minute consultation. Our Care Coordinator will speak with you about your relationship challenges and help you determine whether our team is a good fit to help you reach your goals. If so, they’ll help you choose a therapist and get you started with a first session.
We're here for you!