All NPCC staff members can be reached at their individual phone number or email address.
For an intake interview, please call 415.752.5275 or contact one of our staff members below.
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New Perspectives Center for Counseling Staff
Associates
The relationship forged between client and therapist is one imbued with a transformational power. In our sessions, I will meet you exactly where you are and my attention will be focused entirely on your progress and personal growth. Together we will explore your unique landscape and come to discover where and who you are.
I’m Cara Michelle Connor, MFT Trainee. My therapeutic practice is informed by modern relational psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychodynamic depth work, as well as ritual spirituality, psychedelic integration, and Zen meditation. In my work with individuals, adolescents and couples, I strive to ensure that my practice welcomes people of all ages, races, bodies, ethnicities, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic realities. I have experience supporting folx around heartbreak, relationship, insecurity, sadness, grief, trauma, chronic pain, illness, substance use, life transition, existential issues, psychedelic exploration, feelings of overwhelm, feelings of emptiness, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
No matter where you find yourself on your journey, collaborating closely with a psychotherapist can be an opportunity for tremendous change — as well as for a peace that comes only from engaging honestly with yourself in an environment free from judgment and conventional expectations. If you’re reading this, now is the time to get the assistance you’ve been looking for, and allow someone to join you at this pivotal moment in your life.
I aim to meet you where you are in your process and, while striving to maintain a horizontal perspective, assist in helping you determine the best path forward in your life. I tend to advocate for contentment over happiness. I conduct sessions in both English and Spanish.
Therapy is a journey that is unique to each individual. For this reason I focus on a holistic client-centered process. While my approach is trauma-informed and guided by a mindful, humanistic, and transpersonal perspective, I believe all models of therapy have something to offer; allowing for an integration and synthesis of what best serves the client. I believe that empathic presence, acceptance, and compassion, form the foundation of the therapeutic space. Through this space self-discovery is made possible.
Having the space and the accompaniment of another human as you go into the depths of your being allows you to sort, name and make sense of yourself, your relationships, your boundaries, your longings and your pain. When someone intelligently and lovingly tracks your inner workings with you it allows you to be in more full contact with yourself, including the pieces of you that would otherwise remain unknown and unconscious. Sometimes the simple presence of the other is what we need to heal our wounds, unpack our fears and find what is most true for us. As your therapist I will endeavor to know your life, your suffering and your dreams with you. Through that knowing there is growth, power and ultimately freedom. I am especially interested in helping couples who have become estranged or entrenched in painful dynamics to rediscover the source of their connection. I believe relationships often hold the key for our maturation and it is through confronting the most excruciating dynamics that we encounter the greatest potential for our growth.
I believe each of us is capable of finding our own unique path to healing. Innate wisdom and resilience is within us, waiting to be discovered and known. In my role as a therapist, I am both a companion and guide to walk beside you on your journey.
My approach is collaborative, integrating strengths-based modalities such as relational psychodynamic, gestalt, and narrative approaches, with insight oriented and body centered modalities. I bring many years of experience working in the creative field with me and have seen how powerful a force creativity can be in the healing process. I incorporate into my practice a passion for the creative and expressive arts as another pathway to discover an embodied sense of aliveness and connection that may have been lost, or never known.
Among my personal and professional interests are the intersection between chronic illness and trauma, complex and intergenerational trauma, somatic and mindfulness-based healing practices, social and environmental justice, dreamwork, mythology and drama therapy.
A tree always grows toward the sun; it is the tree’s natural inclination. I believe in a person’s own innate ability to heal and grow, no matter the personal history of pain and suffering, abuse or trauma. I believe in a human-centered approach to therapy. What I mean by that is, if we can slow down enough to listen to the inner wisdom of what our bodies are telling us, we can tap into, and eventually heal from, what ails us. Often, the trials and tribulations of life cause us to put up protective barriers that disconnect us from how we really feel and what we really need. Our work together can serve as a bridge back to that inner wisdom. Using a blend of somatic, cognitive, psychodynamic, and expressive art therapies, staying conscious of the interplay between mind, body, and spirit (i.e. your whole being), we will collaboratively and compassionately explore what is causing you suffering, and process it together - whether it be grief, anxiety/depression, chronic illness or stress, or previous and painful traumas - we will journey jointly down the trail, cut and carved out, by you.
Senior Associates
A traumatic event can be life-changing. We may feel as if the person we once were has been permanently changed. In many ways, this is true. We may feel anxious, confused, and isolated. Yet trauma can be transformed into increased resilience and new capacities. I have a strong conviction that with the right conditions, we can heal from adversity. If fact, we can thrive. My work is to provide a safe relationship that can support the body’s intrinsic capacity for healing and the mind make new meaning.
I have completed a Master’s degree in counseling psychology at Meridian University. I am a graduate from the Somatic Experiencing Institute and am EMDR-trained. I’ve had a long standing meditation practice that started when I was working on my undergraduate degree in Buddhist and Western Psychology. My mother is an immigrant to this country, and I have lived in Europe for nine years; I have compassion for the outsider.
I also have a long history in the performing arts and thus love to support creative people and remove the obstacles that prevent us from being the person that we are meant to be. My approach is humanistic and trauma-informed. I incorporate somatics, mindfullness, parts work and creativity into therapy sessions. I look forward to meeting you!
My goal as a therapist is to understand your concerns, hopes and struggles - what it's like to be in your shoes. I bring a compassionate, reflective and non-judgmental approach to counseling. I see therapy as a collaborative process and will draw from neuroscience, mindfulness, and existential perspectives to support your growth process.
Prior to coming to New Perspectives, I provided counseling at a hospice clinic for people in the midst of loss and bereavement. I have also worked in community mental health where I supported individuals struggling with chronic mental illness, addiction and homelessness. Through these experiences I developed a passion for exploring the processes of grief, depression, and trauma, and for how empathy and compassion in counseling can lead to the path of healing.
"There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
-Leonard Cohen
The cracks show up in your dreams, your slips in speech, the connections in what you speak about week to week ….that’s what I listen for in the room. We look for what your inner Self is trying to communicate to you, what you don’t know that you don’t know. You can say anything in the room … or nothing. The breaking open of the heart allows the love in.
“Why do we focus so intensely on our problems? What draws us to them? Why arethey so attractive? They have the magnet power of love: somehow we desire our problems; we are in love with them much as we want to get rid of them . . . Problems sustain us — maybe that’s why they don’t go away. What would a life be without them? Completely tranquilized and loveless . . . There is a secret love hiding in each problem”
-James Hillman
My studies have included extensive work with dreams, the medicine of indigenous people, the deep listening of Freud & Lacan, the deep love in the heart of the Shaivite, Tantric traditions, and the place of LGBTQI2Spirit people in the world in terms of gifts and purpose.
“What does it matter how many lovers you have if none of them gives you the universe?”
-Jacques Lacan
Are you feeling a call to do something differently in your life? Perhaps you need clarity around responding to certain people and situations as you navigate life situations like parenting, grief, or loss? If so, I can help.
I work with clients at all stages of life who are looking for a safe place and a fully present and insightful companion to explore their own unique inner landscape. I work in a client centered fashion bringing tools like mindfulness, somatic awareness, spiritual connection, creative expression, and an open heart to our work together.
Best wishes to you on your journey.
Welcome to New Perspectives! I hope that as you are looking at this site, you are feeling that we can help you make positive changes. Sometimes in life it is very helpful to have an ally, and the aid that we offer through the therapeutic relationship can be a powerful tool for transformation. My name is Gabe, and I have worked with children and adults dealing with depression, anxiety, and situational problems. I believe that while working with my clients, I have increased awareness, helped to understand and process traumatic events, and offered the empathy and insight that has made a difference. I am glad to be here, and to continue helping people in their hour of need.
If you're looking at this site, there's probably some part of your life that you're considering changing: a job, a relationship, a way of dealing with people or situations that isn't working as well as you would like. Having a therapist to talk out your ideas and feelings with can make the changing you want to do easier.
I'm a seasoned intern who's worked with many women, men, and couples, from many different places and situations. I offer you an interested listener who can also make suggestions, based on my training and experience; then you decide what choices you want to make. If you would like, we can use drawing, role playing, and sand tray work as part of your therapy.
I have a special interest in working with couples, with artists and musicians, and with everyday problems of work and personal relationships. I'd be happy to talk with you about the life changes you want to make.
In today's fast-paced and intense world, life can sometimes be overwhelming and isolating. It is easy to lose one’s way and sense of inner direction. I believe that each person has the capacity to heal themselves and to grow. I work with clients to help them re-discover and access their own inner wisdom, which allows them to connect with their sense of meaning and purpose and to work towards creating the life that they want. My approach is tailored to the needs of each client, and I use a variety of theories and modalities, including solution-focused, somatic, Adlerian, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, all grounded in the core conditions of counseling: congruence, empathy and unconditional positive regard. My areas of specialization include: career counseling, anxiety, depression, disability and chronic illness. I also speak Spanish and have experience working with clients from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. If you are struggling to find a career that is a fit for you, or you need help improving your resume, interviewing and networking skills, I can help you do this. I also have a strong awareness of disability-related issues, and thus, bring a social-justice perspective to my work with individuals who are members of underrepresented or marginalized groups. I believe we cannot understand people without looking at the contexts, or environments, (both physical and social) of which they are a part. Whether you are looking for support through a difficult life, or career transition, or you are struggling with anxiety and depression, my goal is to help you gain the clarity, support, and tools you need to live a life of happiness and fulfillment.
“We are born in relationship, we are wounded in relationship, and we can be healed in relationship.” - Harville Hendrix
Drawing upon a variety of different practices and teachings, Peter uses a collaborative approach that is unique for each client to help access their inherent strengths. By being curious, authentic, and empathic with clients, Peter leverages the relationship between the therapist and client to help them reach their goals. Sometimes those goals may include reducing feelings of worry and worthlessness, repairing relationships, exploring identity, understanding and processing trauma, and learning new skills to manage anger, doubt, or fear.
Peter works with couples, families, adolescents and adults from a variety of cultural backgrounds. He has experience working with clients that have experienced traumatic events, are struggling to manage symptoms of depression and anxiety, are experiencing loss and grief, are working through parenting challenges, divorce or combining families, and couples seeking to better communicate or mend their relationship.
Peter received his Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. His training is strength-based, experiential, family system and attachment based. Peter is pursuing advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) in order to better support all types of couples and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help clients process trauma.
I am passionate about the wisdom, courage, health and joy that lives within every person. Each of us contain the keys to healing our lives, and living to our fullest potential. We contain all that we need. I empower my clients with the tools that they need to work with themselves, thus fostering independence and self-sovereignty. I draw from a broad spectrum of psychotherapeutic modalities in order to best facilitate each client's unique process and path towards self awareness, healing and balance. Some modalities that I use are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychosynthesis, guided visualizations, creative expression and mindfulness.
I meet my clients where they are with empathy, unconditional positive regard and a strong belief that clients hold their own wisdom and healing, and that my job is to help them to uncover that natural drive towards health and wholeness.
I have a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA. My approach is humanistic, client focused, transpersonal and psychodynamic.
"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." ~Rumi
