Nova has been one of the best therapists I have ever worked with. She is compassionate and non-judgmental, and provides a really safe environment in which to share and grow. She helped me through some of the most difficult life transitions I could imagine, and I am so grateful for her support especially during those times. I really can't recommend her enough! read more

I absolutely love Nova! She is, without a doubt, the best therapist I have ever worked with. Her warmth and compassion make it so easy to open up, and I always leave our sessions feeling lighter, calmer, and more hopeful. When I started working with Nova I was new to therapy (and nervous about it) and she made me feel so safe and supported. She has supported me through some really difficult life transitions and helped me navigate the emotional challenges of living with a chronic illness. Nova is incredibly wise, insightful, and truly cares. She also provides extremely valuable resources. I have learned so much from her. I feel so lucky to have Nova in my life and working with her has been such a gift -- she's helped me grow in ways I never imagined. She is not only your therapist, she is your biggest advocate and best friend. I can't recommend her highly enough, I would rate her a 10 out of 5 stars if I could!! read more

Nova is an absolute gem of a person and a wonderful therapist! She does a great job of making you feel comfortable, understood, and accepted. She provides thoughtful insights, wise guidance, and helpful resources to enable growth and healing. She's also very caring, human, and empathic; you can tell she really wants the best for you. Nova was recommended to me by a friend and I'm so glad to have found her, she's truly a gifted therapist! read more

Nova Goldberg has changed my life. I have been working with her since December of 2017 and I remember our first session vividly. There is no stronger reference beyond the fact that I sent no less than 10 of my closest friends and business partners to her. She is a wealth of knowledge and always learning. She approachable, cares deeply, and dynamic - soft when you need it, and firm when you need it. I tell people that she is the best in the world at what she does, and I genuinely believe that. read more

The only way I can express how wonderful Nova is, is to tell you that I stopped seeing her after four sessions. Oh yeah. She's *that* good. At our first appointment she had me visualize how I wanted to feel after our final sessions. Lo and behold, at the end of session four, I did. What I loved most about working with Nova is that she didn't need to hear every little thing about every experience in my life. I came in with a purpose and left with a new and improved carefree attitude that I've taken into my relationships. She's like a best friend and the mother you wished you had and your favorite childhood teacher all rolled into one. Nova is a beautiful human being and I'm lucky to know her. The best part is I know she'll always be there should I ever need her services again. read more

Nova's basically my favorite person ever. Heading into every chat with her, no matter how I was feeling, I always came out feeling better and with a clear idea of what I wanted to get done. I came to her looking for a someone to talk to who wasn't family or a good friend. She provided so, so much more than an unbiased perspective and sounding board. She cares. She wants to help. She's funny. Personable. And just a very warm and wonderful person. The type of person you don't hesitate to call your friend, despite your "working relationship". We worked together for a short period of time but accomplished a ton. If you're looking for someone to talk to, for any reason, I cannot recommend her enough! read more

A friend of mine was looking for a therapist, so I asked my husband for recommendations as he's an MFT intern with quite a few therapist colleagues. Without hesitation, he recommended Nova and told me that she is warm, professional and just incredible at what she does. I'm writing this on behalf of my friend, for the purpose of confidentiality. My friend went to Nova and has raved about her ever since then. Nova has helped my friend learn more about herself in the past eight sessions (or so?) than in the 15 years I've known her. My friend was hesitant to drive out to San Francisco because she lives in the East Bay, but greatly looked forward to her time with Nova. The issues that my friend had been dealing with were primarily with her marriage, body image, child-bearing situation, and balancing a career change (if this is helpful!) My friend found Nova to be approachable, honest, intelligent and friendly. She didn't feel that she was sitting in a stuffy clinical environment, but rather getting advice from a super wise and awesome close friend. I cannot do justice to the transformation that's occurred in my friend. It's pretty magical to see. My friend told me that she wanted me to do this Yelp review and to spread the good vibes. I hope many, many others will share in my friends inspiring journey with Nova. read more

Nova is a very special therapist. And I don't throw that around lightly. There is no question that she is doing the work that she is meant to do. She has a beautiful blend of non-judgmental listening and sympathizing with showing you where you are tripping yourself up. Nova really helped me break down a lot of assumptions that I had about myself and gave me the tools how to move past them. We inevitably end up laughing and crying and I always leave her feeling lighter than I did when I walked in. She is a true talent and I feel lucky to have her as a resource for me! read more

*I am posting this for a close friend for confidentiality reasons. I have been working with Nova Goldberg, MFT for almost a year now and am very happy I made the decision to begin therapy and even happier that I found Nova. She has a true gift for listening with compassion and non-judgment as well as when to provide constructive feedback. Due to her support around my relationships and career, I have made a significant change in my life for the better and have her to thank. I wholeheartedly recommend her and encourage you to contact her for a session, I am so glad I did. read more

My husband and I have had enormous stress in the pandemic and needed to give our relationship some TLC. Scheduling was a breeze and Zoom actually worked out fine. Our time with Nova felt so comfortable, positive and solution focused. I appreciated her emphasis on the relationship as the client, instead of one or the other of us. It was my husband's first experience with therapy and he got a ton from it. I feel like even my kids will benefit. Highly recommend!!! read more

Working with Nova is a game-changer and she will most definitely be able to help you with your problems. My girlfriend and I came to her with a series of issues we had no idea how to overcome. We managed to power through all of it in 6 sessions and left feeling that we could close all of it and begin a new chapter. So, if you are reading this and considering Nova, give her a chance and let her prove how good she is at what she does. read more

tl;dr Nova is excellent. You will be respected, your time will be used efficiently without feeling like you're "just another client", and you will have 100% of her attention during your sessions. She has a caring, thoughtful personality and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't gain from time with her. Nova was highly effective for me: after 11 sessions we both agreed we had successfully achieved the outcome I'd desired upon beginning to work together. I've always been suspicious of psychologists trying to milk you along, and this suspicion was never raised for even a second with Nova; we were done in less than 1.5 months, and I always felt meaningful progress was made during each session. I highly recommend her. --- More detail if you want it: Had a particular psychological issue that I wanted to address--and quickly! I called and "interviewed" 8 (cognitive behavioral) psychologists in San Francisco before coming across Nova. Over the phone I could tell that she was very likely what I was looking for, and once we began working together I was sure of it. In the first session I expressed my desire to work through the issue aggressively with two sessions per week. Nova matched or exceeded my intensity and commitment to solving my problem in every single session. Initially I wanted to have highly structured sessions, with each having some sort of theme, but Nova suggested a more organic, free-flowing approach, which I (honestly somewhat reluctantly) agreed to. Definitely glad I trusted her--Nova's process was perfect. I'd write a "self growth journal" in which I'd document my successes and pain points between sessions and give the highlights at the beginning of each session. We'd synthesize what worked and how to continue or even grow those successes in the future, and then tackle where I'd felt I'd fallen short--and why. There were a few sessions that I honestly thought were beautiful conversations, discussing philosophical beliefs I'd subconsciously developed long ago and to my day-to-day detriment. If there was time permitting, we'd discuss anything new I wanted to address that wasn't covered in my "need to work on" area of my self-growth journal. All of the sessions were efficient without feeling like I was just "another client". She definitely cares about you, and is energized by diving into what you have going on and how to help. She sits directly across from you and does not become distracted and is throughly, thoughtfully engaged at all times. I don't think I'm a particularly emotional person, but I know Nova engaged me emotionally and if other clients were more emotional, I think she'd engage them equally well. She strikes me as someone who is able to adapt easily and effectively to a wide range of personality types. It took only I believe 11 sessions (2x p week means about 1.5 months!) before I had worked through things with her. It's been about 2 months since I stopped and I'm happy to report that the changes seem to be permanent. I can honestly highly recommend Nova to just about anyone. read more

I have known Nova for five years in a professional capacity. She is compassionate, motivating, creative, supportive, and reliable. She provides quality care to the people she serves. I believe Nova's solid clinical knowledge, strong interpersonal skills, caring heart, and leadership would support anyone's growth and development on this life journey. I wholeheartedly recommend Nova Goldberg! read more

Nova has been a colleague of mine for over 5 years in a community mental health setting. I am very familiar with her clinical style, and I was glad when she shared her decision to begin a private practice. Through her private practice, she employs a strength-based and solution-focused brief therapy approach, generally consisting of approx. 12 sessions, to facilitate an increased awareness of an individual's strengths and resources, the uncovering of true motivation for change, and the implementation of new strategies to bring about change. Warm, positive, and empathic, she provides a safe and nonjudgmental space conducive to exploration and growth in a brief amount of time. Working with her at a community mental health clinic for young adults has allowed me not only to become familiar with her clinical style, but to witness directly the progress of her clients from this clinic. She has developed solid and trusting therapeutic relationships with her clients, who come from diverse backgrounds and live with various mental health and psychosocial struggles. Her attunement to individual needs, validation of levels of readiness, encouragement to take on healthy challenges, and collaborative approach with clients have empowered the youth she works with to strengthen decision-making and communication skills, establish healthier relationships with self and others, better cope with life transitions, and develop the confidence to take steps towards increased independence. I am confident in her clinical talents and ability to impact positively the lives of others. read more

Nova is really great, she listens well and provides good suggestions for how to change things with a look toward the future rather than staying in the past. She follows my somewhat non linear descriptions and does not get lost. She focuses on the positive rather than letting me completely delve into the negative; although she is a sounding board for the negative when I felt I need to explain the negative. She is accepting of other things that I come across and has good suggestions for things I should read or learn more about. She acknowledges the hard work I am doing to resolve some of the issues I am having. She helped me with things that I think are overwhelming, but let me know what I can change what I can't, that is, I can change my self but I can't necessarily change others. We focused on what I am doing as opposed to what others are doing and with the understanding this will lead to better results than trying to change others. I won't say I am completely better than before, these are my issues, but I will say I am not in as big of a funk with myself as I was when I first started the sessions. read more