Phone: (510) 649-9818
3101 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705
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Get directions and contact info for Blue Oak Therapy Center.
Many people wonder what individual therapy is all about. There are many confusing ideas about it. For instance, one common misconception is that the therapist is there simply to ask questions and make statements in order to “fix” the client. Another is that a therapist’s job is simply to sit, listen and analyze.
In reality, individual therapy is an organic and naturally unfolding process. The therapist and client collaborate to define the goals of the therapy and the means to achieve those goals. Just as each snowflake has its own distinct shape and as each fingerprint differs from every other, each therapist-client relationship is unique in and of itself. Much of the change that occurs in individual therapy is a result of this unique blend.
It is important to know that whatever is shared in therapy is held in strict confidence between the client and therapist (and the therapist’s supervisor if the therapist is unlicensed). The only exception to that confidentiality is when someone’s safety is in jeopardy.
Individual therapy can help with many different issues including:
Individual therapy can work in many different ways. Each therapist brings their own unique perspectives and experiences along with a variety of different theoretical orientations. Read our staff bios to see the variety of therapists working at Blue Oak Therapy Center.
To be seen and heard with kindness and compassion is deeply healing. Through the experience of talking and being together, both therapist and client reach an understanding and a shared experience of what is going on under the surface. Once this happens, opportunities for new experiences emerge and change, and transformation is possible.
As a community, the therapists at Blue Oak Therapy Center take a holistic approach to working with clients. Our work goes beyond solely relying on verbal conversation; our therapists have other ways of working with people. Our therapists use other forms of communication such as the written word, artwork, drama, narrative story, sand tray, music and body awareness. These forms of creative expression offer exciting ways into the unconscious. Our therapists believe that there is a deep human longing to be witnessed while being creative, and that such witnessing facilitates the unfolding of unconscious processes. Blue Oak Therapy Center’s approach is a combination of our diversity of interests and expertise, and our shared commitment to working with kindness and compassion.
Please read our staff bios pages to get a further sense of the varieties of therapists available here at Blue Oak Therapy Center or contact us at (510) 649-9818 for more information.
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Blue Oak Therapy Center
3101 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705 Phone: (510) 649-9818
Clinical director is Stuart Sovatsky, PhD, MFT Licensed #MFC 19173.