Find a therapist in Oakland, CA — covered by insurance


Top therapists in Oakland, CA accepting new patients
Oakland's mental health landscape is evolving with growing access to talk therapy and medication management. Headway serves residents throughout the city, including Downtown Oakland, Piedmont Avenue, and Fruitvale, with providers available within two weeks. Work with your insurance to make mental healthcare affordable and accessible.
Anxiety and perfectionism have turned your mind into a battleground. Your inner critic nitpicks every interaction, leaving you exhausted by thoughts of “Damnit, why can’t I just be better!” Painful memories get louder, no matter how hard you try to ignore them. Daily invalidations of your Latina, queer, or immigrant identity sting, and you feel isolated as you keep your suffering to yourself. You’ve tried everything: doom scrolling, drinking, and self-help books, but nothing has worked. You're left feeling hopeless and weighed down.
Are you in life transition or coping with anxiety and stress ? Are you searching for deeper meaning to feel more joy and peace? Are you going through life’s uncertainty due to factors of life transition, illness, aging, identity crisis, retirement, loss of loved ones, financial stress, women’s hormonal changes? Do you want more Meaningful positive experiences and becoming your Best Authentic Self?
I am here to provide you with compassionate care, kindness and psychological and emotional support. You deserve to experience peace of mind and wellness. Life invites growth through transitions which require us to change and make tough decisions. am here to support you to THRIVE in times of change.
About Me:
I am guided by my values of Compassion, Wisdom, Healing and Empowerment. My focus is helping people THRIVE in healthy lifestyle and wellbeing.
I practice Ayurveda, a holistic lifestyle system from India that promotes balance of mind, body, and spirit through daily habits, nutrition, and self-care.
I’m a licensed therapist trained in somatic psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. I work with individuals, couples, and men, supporting clients with anxiety (including social anxiety), depression, ADHD, relationship challenges, trauma, and life transitions. I also help people navigating loneliness, work-related stress, and cultural or identity-related experiences, including multiracial relationships. My goal is to help people better understand themselves, their patterns, and how they relate to others. I tend to be warm, down-to-earth, and collaborative, while also being direct when it’s helpful.
Hi, I'm Mark.
I work with adolescents, teens, young adults, and adults who struggle with anxiety, depression, anger, and relationships.
If you feel overwhelmed by emotions, we can face these challenges together with a good plan and the right tools. I have a lot of experience working with neurodiversity, anxiety, and self-harm.
Therapy can expand and strengthen your network of support, especially during difficult times. Reach out today--I'd love to answer any questions and share more.
For the past 20 years, I've worked across private practices, youth development centers, schools, and mental health clinics. My passion is to work with adults navigating major life transitions. Whether you are a college student or approaching retirement, my hope is to walk alongside you during this time of change and uncertainty; to help create the conditions for you to reconnect with your authentic self and remember what lights you up. We can explore ways to recognize and acknowledge your anxiety that moves beyond words. Incorporating expressive arts, guided imagery, and embodied exercises to help you strengthen your awareness with your emotions and rewrite old narratives.
I have a deep commitment to seeing people flourish in relationship to themselves, and to others. For many of us, we have some sense of what makes relationships great and what makes them terrible. Knowing and experiencing what makes great relationships stronger, and what turns terrible relationships around, is where I can work alongside you. As someone who has been stepped in Attachment science, I love allowing for people to make more coherent sense of their internal world, to build or restore bonds with others.
Dr. Cristina LaFarre
Psychiatric Mental Health NP
Virtual & in-person • 7.2 mi away • San Francisco, CA
As a mature therapist with more than 35 years of experience, I bring both professional expertise and the wisdom that comes from a lifetime of helping people navigate life's challenges. I have extensive experience working with anxiety, trauma, grief, relationship difficulties, and life transitions.
I believe that every person has the capacity to heal and grow. I work comfortably with people from diverse cultural, spiritual, and socioeconomic backgrounds and strive to create a warm, respectful environment where clients feel safe, heard, and genuinely understood. I love my work and consider it a privilege to walk alongside people as they create healthier, more meaningful lives.
I have had over ten years of training in a variety of somatic therapy approaches. I received my BA in Anthropology at the University of Georgia, and a MA in Counseling Psychotherapy from California Institute of Integral Studies. I've published and presented internationally on themes of embodiment, culture, ancestral memory, and gender. My research on embodiment and culture was published in in the volume Moveable Gardens: Itineraries and Sanctuaries of Remembrance in 2021.
Hi! My name is Peter Sherlock, and I’m a licensed clinical psychologist (PsyD) practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area, though I see clients statewide via telehealth. My approach to therapy is warm, focused, and tailored to your needs. I will support you every step of the way as you develop the skills you need to live life in a way that feels right to you. My main areas of focus are depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and addiction.
I’m a licensed therapist in San Francisco with over 15 years in private practice. I specialize in Eating disorders, body image and trauma and work primarily with adults who are exhausted by the cycle of restriction, compulsive eating, shame and self criticism and are ready for something to genuinely shift. My training includes, IFS, Somatic therapy, EMDR, CBT and Expressive Arts therapy, which means we will not only engage in supportive talk therapy, but also have real tools to work with. My clients often express that not only do they heal and find peace with food, disordered eating and body image, but they also become more able to feel and tolerate emotions and regulate moods, while building trust in their bodies and discover true hungers, desires and enhance creativity and vitality. This can lead to more ease and comfort in your own skin, with the potential of more meaningful work and healthy relationships.
About our therapists located within 20 miles of Oakland, CA



- 97%Anxiety
- 92%Depression
- 90%Stress management
- 87%Relationship issues
- 86%Trauma

- 96%Aetna
- 48%Anthem Blue Cross California
- 47%Providence Health Plan
- 43%Carelon Behavioral Health
- 36%Curative

- 97%English
- 12%Spanish
- 4%Hindi
- 4%Mandarin
- 3%Cantonese

- 88%In-person or online
- 12%In-person only

- 71%Woman
- 25%Man
- 4%Non-binary

- 60%Licensed Marriage/Family Therapist
- 17%Licensed Clinical Social Worker
- 12%Clinical Psychologist
- 8%Nurse Practitioner
- 4%Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor

- 99%Individual therapy
- 31%Child or adolescent therapy
- 30%Family therapy
- 16%Couples therapy
Frequently asked questions


Find the right therapist for you
Headway makes it easy to find support for your mental health — from finding the right provider, to understanding costs, to scheduling with ease.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Therapist in Oakland
Searching for therapists in Oakland starts with knowing what kind of support you want from therapy. Oakland has a broad mental health care community, with therapists who work with concerns like anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, grief, trauma, and life transitions. As you compare options, look for therapists whose listed specialties, training, and approach match what you want to focus on. Their profiles can also show whether they use approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or acceptance and commitment therapy.
Location and format can shape which therapist is the best fit for your schedule. In Oakland, you may prefer an office near Downtown Oakland, Temescal, Piedmont Avenue, Lake Merritt, or Fruitvale, especially if transit access or commute time matters. Virtual therapy can also make it easier to meet with a therapist whose availability fits your calendar. Before booking, review each therapist’s profile for appointment times, whether they offer a free phone consultation, session format, and how they describe their communication style.
Therapy in Oakland can be a significant expense without insurance. Using in-network insurance is one of the most reliable ways to reduce session costs and understand what you may pay before you start. Headway helps you find Oakland therapists who are accepting new patients, compare detailed bios, verify your insurance, and see estimated costs before booking. You can browse therapists, review fit, and book directly when you’re ready.
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