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 yourself and others. We study different aspects of your experience, including your thoughts, feelings, memories, impulses, sensations in your body, and spirituality.

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.

Clients tell me they appreciate my interactive and supportive, results-oriented style. I can help you heal issues from the past, and resolve present-day problems, using highly effective holistic techniques, including: The Hakomi method – somatic/body-centered therapy, Gestalt – a powerful way of exploring core feelings that are present in the moment, 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 the past, I counseled adolescents, adults and senior citizens at Crisis Support Services of Alameda County, as well as having worked 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. 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. My previous profession was teaching English as a Second Language, having earned my Master’s in that subject area and taught at City College of San Francisco and Golden Gate University. My undergraduate education was in Asian Studies at UC Berkeley, including a year living in Japan.

My Areas of Focus:

• Anxiety and Stress
• Depression and Loneliness
• Life & Career Coaching/Mentoring
• Self-Esteem
• Sexuality
• Relationship/Intimacy issues
• Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual issues
• Life Transitions
• Grief, Loss, and Dying
• Spirituality
• Cultural Assimilation
• Workplace issues

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