The Wright Institute in Berkeley is a great place to receive affordable mental health services…read more It is a private graduate school of psychology specializing in educating clinicians and giving them real world experience before they become professional therapists. These students have done all the course work and need hours in the field of psychology before they get their licenses. I have a therapist I see once a week for part of their semester and it resolves in July. These students are educated and can help you through phase of life challenges. This is my second time receiving counseling and previously I received therapy 10 years ago. They charge on a sliding scale and offer some stability during challenging times. They also offer group therapy sessions and you may drop in whenever your schedule permits and the cost is $15 per session. Although I have not partaken in the group therapy sessions, I have heard many good things about them and considering joining a few. What I like a lot about the Wright Institue is I feel as though the students really try hard and seem to care very much with what you're going through and are very helpful to help you process what your priorities are and what you hope to gain from the therapy sessions. Finding a therapist in the real world is as challenging as finding your partner in life so it can take a while. That's why I feel that the Wright Institute is a great way to get started in therapy. They're located near UC Berkeley campus and the parking can be challenging. But there is affordable metered parking up and down Durant Street and the duration is for 2-4 hours.

I can't give more than two stars for what is, unfortunately without a doubt, the biggest financial…read moreand temporal mistake of my life. But it is not all the WI fault, it is more the field. I'm writing this for the prospective student considering application. Please deeply consider your options. It's what you think you want until you get it, and let me tell you why. When you get out, which is not your whole journey, (you still have post doc work to do), there is not a plethora of opportunities. Again, it's not just the WI- the value of the education is vastly overpriced. If you don't get a job at Kaiser, you will be swallowed by them. Private practice, and the prices you will need to pay back your loan, CEUs, and live in this area, are virtually (figuratively and literally) a thing of the past. It is not possible to compete with the low rates a therapist from Kaiser charges, and the unethical practices (group therapy for individual presenting problems, HIPPA legally thrown out the window, etc) they get away with. Apps like Better Help will have you making just above what a Door Dasher makes as they saturate the field with the most minimum license above dog catcher to populate their therapist offerings. Because of the ethics of the field, you cannot effectively advertise, and getting clients from senior psychologists comes at the price of a referral fee. You're coming into a field that sees us as pawns. I don't agree with other reviews about it being white- centric. When I went applications to internships on them said "People of color STRONGLY encouraged to apply." Mm hm. If you cannot find whatever solace you need dead-center in the most liberal city in the most liberal field in the nation/world, may I recommend applying instead to a kindergarten program. I had some beautiful kind souls that taught me here, and one or two who were not a good fit. But some glaring gaps- it never taught me the DSM, and it didn't prepare me for licensure. I passed, but that was all on me; perhaps that is the final test to see if you are ready, but I would have preferred a smoother bridge to licensure. Please learn from my mistake: I was once you.

I came across Annie Wright from the positive reviews on Yelp and Google. She said she did sliding…read morescale sessions based on income, and her minimum rate was $250 per session. I tried her out because she did EMDR, which I read about as useful for processing trauma. We did a thorough intake(and many intake forms) where Annie confirmed she would be a great fit as my therapist. Yet after a few sessions she suddenly said she lacked the expertise to continue providing care, rendering all the time and money spent for the previous sessions a waste. I asked her for a refund. She tried to make me sign a lawyer document. It turns out she got upset over a cancellation(a cancellation she agreed to personally cancel) and decided to schedule another session just to charge me the extra money and terminate the therapy relationship.

Disappointing experience with Annie. I contacted Annie based on the positive reviews but my…read moreinteractions with her showed that she was a cold and unapproachable therapist. She upsells and overcharges, and her fees seem to go more towards marketing than her actual practice. She spent a lot of time talking about how great of a saleswoman she is. It appears that she cares more about running her business and exploiting her patients to make money than helping her patients. If you're in search of a therapist, you're much better off looking for a more affordable and less money-hungry practitioner who genuinely cares about their patients. There are many of them in the Bay Area and with some effort you'll find one. Good luck.

I'm learning a lot about my childhood and early adult trauma from a great book on NARM and it's…read morerefreshing after being shut down whenever I tried to get help.

I've known Ivan professionally for over decade, during which time we've done a number of…read moreprofessional trainings together. In that context, I've seen his work first hand, and find him to be a skilled practitioner with a strong sense of presence and compassionate attention. He has studied some of the more cutting-edge modalities in our field, and is adept at integrating them in a way that the technique becomes background to the client's experience of self-observation and exploration. I am always confident that people will be in good hands when I refer to him. Jeff Cohen, LMFT

Covid restrictions aside, New Bridge was a great experience for me. The counselors I worked with…read more(Jose and Brenna) were by far the best for the job; caring, compassionate, straight forward and understanding. Due to covid, a lot of their regular activities came to a halt, but the facility did their best to accommodate clients so we could talk to family and get out to see the rest of the world. I can only speak on the Helios program which I was in for 30 days. Recovery is one of the hardest things that I will have to work on and New Bridge helped me build a strong foundation to get me started. The real work begins once you get out into the real world and face daily life on "its" terms. A lot of the group therapy meetings I did in NB is helping me develop a productive path towards a new lifestyle. There were some groups and facilitators I did not care for and rules that seemed a little far fetched, but as an addict, I welcomed the structure. The facility itself was beautiful, and the food was average. If you're willing to do the work and keep an open mind, I highly recommend New Bridge

I didn't care for my time at New Bridge. The place is old and cold. Drafty windows and only a few…read morebathrooms. I did get sober but had a lot of medical issues in which the nurses on duty have no medical training on. The nurses only know how to take blood pressure and temperatures and give out meds that's it. One nurse Miquel who isn't a very sympathetic person doesn't care about the people there and it shows. The food is horrible they tend to cook alot of fish and Asian vegetables. Alot of people bring their own food to eat. If your spending good money to go to this place you would think they would have better food. A more rounded menu. This place isn't good for handicap people because it's not ADA . Lots of stairs. There was one nurse who was awesome there, his name was Feral not sure on the spelling but thats how his name sounds. He was the night nurse and he really cared and loved to talked. I won't miss this place and this wasn't my choice to go to. Kaiser made me go to this place. Just do your homework before jumping into any rehab.

Amy helped me turn my life around!…read more I was originally very apprehensive about the idea to seek help in a life coach, but this year I realized that at the age of 30, if I'm not happy with where I'm at, then I must be doing it wrong. I knew that I shouldn't feel like I should spend most of my days without passion, happiness, and energy on a daily basis. I felt like a was going in the wrong direction with my career, and really had no plan of how I could get out of the rut I was in. My first session with Amy was so valuable, that if I never had another, I believe that it would have still changed my life. Amy didn't tell me what to do, but instead helped me identify what I really wanted to do with my life, what was stopping me, and what to focus on to be happier. She helped me focus my disorganized thoughts and ideas into a cohesive and actionable plan that I could take step by step. Nine months later I've never been in a better place in both my professional and personal life, and the best thing about it is that I know that I had it in me to do it with her help.

During my first session with Brandy, I immediately felt home. I don't know what it is, but her…read morecoaching style is one that's rooted in peace, freedom, and sincerity. I felt like I can tell her anything, and it's almost as if I were talking to a life-long friend. Her coaching doesn't stop at the end of the hour either. After each session, Brandy's always there to help or serve when I text or email her with something I'm having trouble with. Initially, I went in for her to uncover my blind spots, and even though she didn't say, "Josh, X, Y, Z are your blind spots," after each session, I'm always amazed at what I haven't been able to see myself. That being said, she's definitely given me what I was looking for, but more importantly, she's transformed my emotional, mental, and spiritual life. One thing to remember, though, is coaching is really a two-way street. At the end of the day, YOU have to put in the work and effort to further your own growth. If you don't care about your own growth, it doesn't matter how great your coach is... you will never grow. Brandy's job is to be the guiding light for your life, but it's you who still have to walk the path at the end of the day. That being said, Brandy will do whatever it takes to serve you, and it's something I always take comfort in whenever I go in to see her.

I went here to get diagnosed as having ADHD at 53 y.o. Kaiser would not even assess me, because "I…read morewas not diagnosed by age 12." As a woman, and turning age 12 in 1981, that was nearly impossible, because the belief back then was that it only affects boys. I emailed back and forth with the retired Chair of Behavior Sciences for UC Berkeley (forgot his name) who's specialty is females and ADHD. He and his colleagues recently did a review of all the studies done on Females and ADHD, and they cite the very first small study even asking the question: "Can girls have ADD (what they called it then)?" done in 1979. It was the first study ever to include females. And it was small. The next study addressing the same question was done in 1982, one year after I turned 12. So Kaiser's policy was ageist and sexist--there was literally no way I would have been diagnosed by age 12. And also, research has shown that ADHD exacerbates in perimenopause. So I reached out to this clinic and they accepted me as a patient on a sliding scale. It was affordable. I had a fully psychiatric assessment. The grad student I worked with was great. I was diagnosed as having ADHD, combined type, moderately to severely. Kaiser finally, after me screaming about their sexist/ageist policy did do an assessment. They said I "likely" have it, but it's "inconclusive," because I was not diagnosed by age 12." Ugggg. They just can't let the Sexism go, again. But the diagnosis from this clinic forced them to treat me. So I am very grateful. Thank you!

Horrible experience. The NP was very condescending. She made some big assumptions after speaking…read morewith us for 45 minutes and our teenager for 15 minutes. The second time we met with her, she didn't even speak with our son after talking down to us for half an hour. She then wrote a lab order to test his levels, but his name was spelled incorrectly. I asked for a correction 3 times and never got a response. I asked for a follow up appointment 3 times and never got a response for that either. I completely accept if she decided she didn't want to work with us. However, ghosting us is incredibly unprofessional and confusing. We are astounded by the combination of her unfounded judgement, lack of professional curiosity, and ghosting. No one goes to a psychiatrist because life is easy. This is a terrible way to treat people who are clearly reaching out for help.

The 'Love Made Simple' Couples Therapy Workshop was invaluable to my partner and me. The keen…read moreperception of these two professionals blew us away; how they really 'saw' into who we each were, after hearing just a few details that we shared about our parents. Gal and Liron are highly intelligent and world class therapists. If you want to meet a major milestone and turning point in your relationship, while getting to know yourself better, take this class. Highly recommend!

As a therapist, I am always looking for useful and inspiring work to continue my education. Love…read moremade Smple has been a comprehensive training that provided both for me. Gal and Liron have created a Intergrative approach to couples therapy that is transformative for and couples alike.

I tried a number of times to make an appointment? I have never had this much of a problem. I did…read moreget responses but the procedure for connection was faulty and now i have given up on them without even knowing wht they have to offer.

They asked for my weight before I could sign up for their 20 week program when I disclosed that I…read morehad previously gotten treatment for an eating disorder (already a red flag, you don't ask someone with an eating disorder their weight) but I complied because I wanted their help. They literally said my weight was a reason I wasn't healthy enough for their program. No fatties allowed apparently, have to be thinner for their program. This is absolutely fatphobic, discriminatory and harmful. There were other red flags too. RUN.

When I started seeing Karen, I felt like a pin at Albany Bowl on a busy night. My wife had passed…read moreaway, I had two teenagers, and my doctor had told me in rather uncertain terms to quit drinking. I suddenly had a million issues and no one I could talk to. I am very grateful to have been introduced to Karen. She has helped (prodded, forcibly perhaps) me into an active recovery program. As the fog lifted, she has helped me work through my grief. She has been invaluable as a guide through the charming little minefield called "raising teenagers." I regard it as a tribute to Karen that one just turned twenty and we are both still alive. And sober.

I highly recommend Dr. Karen Kaufman for couples or individual therapy. She is extremely…read morethoughtful, intelligent, and sensitive. She does a great job of remembering what we said in prior sessions and carried threads easily from one session to the next. My (now husband) and I saw her when we were trying to decide whether or not to get married. She did a great job of listening to both of our perspectives without making the other feel alienated or "wrong." She is easygoing and nonjudgmental while at the same time having some definite and clear insights. We saw her for about a year before I finally decided to take the plunge and get married!