Our Staff: Gregory Kaplan

Gregory Kaplan, MS

Registered MFT Intern, IMF #57743
Supervised by Joan Wager, LCSW
License #LCSW 9620

Many people who consider starting work with a psychotherapist face three questions. What is psychotherapy? How does it work? And most importantly… What can it do for me?

Psychotherapy is a place where you can talk about your problems with someone who’s on your side. This person listens to you with compassion, understanding and acceptance.

In discussing your experiences, we examine them from both the content level and the emotional level, working to see patterns that exist in how you relate to others and yourself. We study different aspects of your experience, including your thoughts, feelings, memories, impulses, sensations in your body, and spiritual inclinations.

What can it do for you? It can help resolve long-standing dilemmas, whether they’re relationship issues with friends, partners or family members, as well as your relationship with yourself. One of the key goals of psychotherapy is to assist in your feeling more comfortable in your own skin, in addition to feeling safer, both inside and out in the world.

I have been influenced by a broad range of therapeutic approaches. From my experience with clients, it’s clear that there is no single one-size-fits-all approach for anyone. So much depends on who you are and on your current needs from moment to moment. Some of the psychological approaches that influence my work include: The Hakomi method – somatic/body-centered therapy, Gestalt – a powerful way of exploring core feelings that are present in the here and now, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – identifying and changing negative thoughts and behaviors that cause us distress, Strength-Based/Positive Psychology – building upon our existing strengths and resources, and the Humanistic Psychodynamic Approach – in which we examine patterns that were formed in the past to protect, but no longer serve us in the present.

Clinical Experience

In addition to my work at Blue Oak, I am counseling students and facilitating support groups at Holden High School. In my work at Crisis Support Services of Alameda County, I’ve been counseling adolescents, adults and senior citizens. I’ve also worked and trained interns on their crisis phone lines. I’ve also facilitated short and long-term support/therapy groups at the Pacific Center for Human Growth and the UCSF AIDS Health Project.

Trainings & Education:

In 2006, I followed my dream and returned to school to get my Master’s in Counseling, at Cal State East Bay. While doing my graduate work, I also studied the Hakomi Method in their 2-year comprehensive training. Before that, I participated in the San Francisco Sex Information’s intensive training and then worked on their phone lines. Before starting work in the counseling field, my previous profession was teaching English as a Second Language, having earned my Master’s in that subject area at San Francisco State. In my undergraduate education, I majored in Asian Studies at UC Berkeley and spent a year studying and working in Japan.

My Areas of Focus:

• Depression and Loneliness
• Self-Esteem
• Sexuality
• Anxiety and Stress
• Grief, Loss, and Dying
• Relationship/Intimacy issues
• Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual issues
• Life Transitions
• Spirituality
• Cultural Assimilation
• Life coaching/Mentoring
• Men’s Issues
• Workplace issues

© Blue Oak Therapy Center
3101 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705    Phone: (510) 649-9818
Clinical director is Stuart Sovatsky, PhD, MFT Licensed #MFC 19173.