Addiction therapists & psychiatrists in Pleasanton, CA

I believe people carry far more strength, clarity, and resilience than they often realize. My role is to help you understand the emotional patterns and internal narratives that shape your experience, so you can move through life with greater freedom and self‐trust. I’m engaged, attuned, and honest in the room — offering reflection, insight, and steady collaboration as we explore what’s happening beneath the surface. We work at a pace that feels grounded for you, creating space for real change to germinate.

Making the decision to start therapy is a profound investment of your time, energy, and vulnerability. If you are looking for a blank-slate clinician who simply nods and listens, we might not be the best fit. I offer a highly engaged, malleable, and unflinching partnership.

My approach is rooted in the belief that while the work of untangling our lives is deeply structural, the room itself doesn't always have to feel heavy. I bring a grounded warmth to my practice—which means knowing how to sit quietly in the gravity of a difficult truth, but also knowing when to break the tension, exhale, and find the light in the sheer complexity of being human. I won’t just sit in silence while you do all the heavy lifting; I am an active collaborator who adapts to exactly where you are.

I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with over 15 years of experience helping adults navigate anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, and life transitions. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about supporting individuals as they work through challenges, build resilience, and create meaningful, lasting change in their lives.

I believe therapy is most effective when clients feel safe, supported, and genuinely heard. My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and strengths-based, focusing on helping you recognize your existing strengths while developing practical tools to manage life's difficulties. Together, we will work to increase self-awareness, strengthen coping skills, and create a path forward that aligns with your values, goals, and overall well-being. My goal is to empower you to navigate challenges with greater confidence and build a life that feels more balanced, fulfilling, and authentic.

I am a mental health clinician who takes a solution‐focused and empowering approach to therapy. I believe healing happens at your pace, and I strive to meet you exactly where you are. My goal is to create a space where you feel safe, respected, and understood as we work together to explore challenges, build on your strengths, and move toward meaningful change.

In my studies at Antioch, I have specialized in Spiritual and Depth Psychology with CBT, DBT, Humanistic-Existential, Client-Centered, Gestalt Theories, Mindfulness, and based on my past experiences have developed a passion for working with a variety of diverse population from 12 years old children and their families to elder adults. I also took courses on World Religions and Women Role in Religion at CSUN, studied in Rabbinical School (AISH Ha’Torah) in Jerusalem, with Buddhist Guru in Nepal and a Hindu Guru in India with knowledge of Vedic (Vedantic), Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Tradition.

For over 15 years being on spiritual path and self-discovery journey, I became a Spiritual Guide, Reiki Master, and a Minister. Lead Spiritual Retreats and trainings around the world, including, India, Nepal, Tibet, Russia, Ukraine. This experience prepared me to work with people from a diversity of backgrounds and cultures.

Worked with a vast variety of symptoms and problems providing needed support to my clients suffering from trauma, anxiety, depression, PTSD, low self-esteem. All of these issues and symptoms have a point to make for us to understand our selves better. Working with adolescents in Residential Treatment Centers, Transitional Youth Living Programs, adult and veterans of all ages, there is one common denominator - if you want your life to be better, we can find your individual path and you might become your own Master. We'll apply, or challenge, your believe system, to make positive changes.

I help my clients resolve their problems, learn coping skills, and set their spiritual and/or religious path. Increasing client's understanding of self and accepting life with all the pluses and minuses, learning from the past without the judgment might be a difficult goal to achieve.

If you've been managing anxiety, depression, ADHD, or a mood that just won't cooperate, you're probably looking for more than a quick prescription. I'm Sydney, a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner in California, and I take time to understand your full picture before making any recommendations.

Introduction

I primarily use a cognitive behavioral approach. My focus area of practice is helping clients improve their lives and find meaningful change.

My communication style

My sessions are calm, collegial, interactive, respectful, directive, and helpful.

How I help clients reach goals

Change does not necessarily take a long time. We're 'shooting for the moon' right away. What's the worst that could happen?

My journey to becoming a provider

Helping others help themselves is an absolute privilege! I'd pay them to do this work (but please don't tell them that.) How did I get here? It's a long story. I originally went to college to be a journalist, but changed to broadcasting. Dumb. I needed to jumpstart my life, so I changed to this profession. Talk about purpose and meaning!

I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with experience working in community mental health, co-occurring substance use treatment, and residential care settings. I work with adults experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use challenges, mood disorders, relationship stress, and major life transitions.

I believe therapy works best when clients feel heard, respected and supported without judgement. My approach is collaborative, trauma-informed, and tailored to each client's unique needs and goals. I draw from CBT, motivational interviewing, and strengths-based approaches to help clients build insight, emotional stability, and healthier coping strategies.

A core priority in my work is helping clients reclaim the power of their voice. Therapy is most meaningful as a collaborative process where you are not only heard, but truly attempted to be known. As an Iranian American therapist, I understand the richness and complexity of holding multiple cultural identities. I especially enjoy supporting Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), as well working with teenagers and adults navigating identity formation, relationships, and the often tender process of growing into themselves. There’s room here for deep healing, honest conversations, and the occasional ‘okay, but why is my brain doing THAT?’

There are things you have learned to work around instead of talk about, and after a while that starts to feel normal. I work with children, adolescents, adults, and seniors across California, and often with whole families who are trying to get through something together. A lot of my work is with people carrying trauma they have never fully unpacked, parents navigating the emotional weight of pregnancy and new parenthood, and people trying to change a pattern of substance use that has already cost them more than they meant to lose. My goal is to meet you where you are, not where a treatment plan says you should be.

Melinda Fay is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a specialty in Art Therapy. I received my MA in Psychology from Phillips Graduate Institute in 2002 and I have been licensed since 2008.

If you're looking for an empathic, reliable therapist, I strive to provide a supportive and nonjudgmental space where you can explore current stressors, past experiences, relationship dynamics, and develop a deeper understanding of yourself. I believe meaningful change begins with feeling heard, understood, and safe enough to be authentic.

Asking for help can feel harder when you've spent most of your life being the one who holds things together. I'm Neydi, a bilingual English and Spanish speaking Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 13 years of experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and seniors. I work with individuals and families navigating trauma, grief, anxiety, and substance use. These challenges rarely arrive alone and almost always connect back to our relationships, our families, and the communities we come from. Clients often describe me as warm, direct, and genuinely invested.

I’m a board-certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with over a decade of experience in mental health. I provide care in both English and Spanish. I enjoy helping people better understand their mental health and find treatment that works for them.