About our Therapists
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Nauser Wolfe, MA, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #123099 |
Suzy Young, MA, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #131869 |
It has been said that children need to pretend to be superhuman just to feel human because our society constantly puts them in a one-down position.
I believe a truly just and healthy society is one that effortlessly meets the needs of children, mothers, and dogs. There are many ways in which a consumer capitalist, white supremacist, ableist and patriarchal society fails to live up to that promise, but the way that this society specifically fails children breaks my heart every day. On a daily basis, children’s feelings and desires and preferences are often belittled if even acknowledged, teaching them that what they care about isn’t important, and that physical size determines one’s worthiness of respect. Children’s right to be born into a supportive community of neighbors and friends where their family has a sense of belonging and interdependence is violated in favor of a social structure designed for the most efficient movement of capital. And to top it off, children are gaslit when adults tell them that everything we do, we do for them. But if we bend to our children’s every whim, we fail them in deeper ways still. When a child begins to show signs of distress, they usually show up in their behavior, and this behavior becomes the focus. Now the child is told there is something wrong with them. Something that needs fixing. That needs therapy. This is the first oppression, and as adults we are responsible for it, but we are also products of it, because we were children once too. And to say that it is the first oppression is not to say that it is more important or valid than any other oppression. Because while all of us are born into this world as helpless infants depending on the competent benevolent presence of whoever happens to be around us, some of us are also born into this world as females, or as Black, or as someone with different abilities, and those identities are targeted by their own oppressions, which come on line pretty quickly themselves. And it would be incomplete not to also acknowledge that parents are also an oppressed class at least in the western world. As parents, our childrearing work is essential to the functioning of society, and yet we receive little to no structural support in meeting our children’s needs. A parent is a necessary collectivist forced to make do with an individualistic toolkit. So, am I saying that therapy is unhelpful? No. I’m saying that where children struggle in this society is a direct reflection of how this society was not made with children’s needs in mind. Our anti-child culture tells us that children’s emotions are a problem, and so it makes sense that it would also tell us to go to therapy to fix those problems. But what is truly needed is a removal of the unnatural stressors that human-created social structures normalize (eg, poverty, oppression, lack of access to quality medical and mental health care) and an immediate assessment of harm and treatment of all physical, nutritional, emotional, psychological, and relational wounds identified. That’s a huge project, and I’m ready to work with anyone on carrying it forward. In the meantime, for recovery from the inevitable emotional wounds our children face today, child-centered play therapy can help. Children’s most intuitive form of language is play, so the therapist’s room full of toys and art supplies and costumes and games is like a virtual reality room just ready for a child to use its technology to work through their emotional stuck places. Child-centered play therapy is a modality that honors every child’s innate yearning for connection and growth. It centers who the child is and what they need, not the problem they present to be fixed. When we center a child and build the relationship from there, they feel respected and safe. When children are given a safe container to explore their inner worlds without excessive outside influence, they can find what they need for healing to occur. I am honored to use child-centered play therapy as my primary modality with young ones. As a half-blind-since-birth child of divorce from a half-Iranian, half-midwestern family, I have experienced and witnessed firsthand the negative effect our culture has on children and others in a one-down position. And as a white-presenting cisgender man, I also know firsthand the work that those of us who hold more privilege need to do in order to heal ourselves, our families, and our culture. As a person who has always been drawn to theater arts, dance, and comedy I know the importance of play, joy and creation as a radical act of social justice and healing. (Fun and laughter are inherently anti-patriarchy!) I strive to be a model of healthy masculinity for all my clients, doing the work to be a father and white man who will center the principles of love, humor, and justice in all I do. I tend to work in a human-centered way in general and have particular interest in supporting parents, fathers, and people invested in creating a healthier and more just world bring more balance, connection, and purpose to their lives. My first job in high school was as an aide for an elementary school after-school program, and I’ve worked in schools and camps ever since. One of my most rewarding professional experiences with children was as one of the founding arts educators of the RiverStars Performing Arts program in Oregon’s Illinois River Valley. As a graduate student at California Institute of Integral Studies, I felt a strong resonance with the philosophy of child-centered play therapy, and I furthered my training during a post-graduate associateship with the Child Therapy Institute from 2017-2020. Like all people, I am a work in progress, and I am constantly learning and adding to my practice. To find out about my other services, including social-justice oriented coaching check out my other website here: https://nauserbear.com/. Or my Youtube introduction below. Phone: (510) 394-5373 Email: nauserbeartherapy@gmail.com Office Locations: Oakland and Orinda |
My name is Suzy and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist I started my career working with children and parents as a special education school teacher in 2011, and have been working in my capacity as a clinician since 2017. I graduated from The Wright Institute with my Masters in Counseling Psychology in the fall of 2018. I specialize in working with individual adults, children, and parents/caregivers. My therapeutic approach is warm, relational, strengths-based, curious, and collaborative. When working with adults, I take a compassion and mindfulness-based relational approach. I consider myself a holistic psychotherapist, meaning I address how your mind, body, and spirit are all interconnected and contribute to your current state of functioning. I firmly believe that we all hold the innate wisdom to heal ourselves, and by looking at our lives holistically we can move toward a place of wholeness. I often incorporate parts work, mindfulness exercises, somatic awareness, and mindful self-compassion practices when working with my clients. I have experience working with anxiety and depression, stress/burnout, life transitions, family systems, relational issues, attachment trauma, and parenting concerns. I balance allowing you to forge your own path in our work together while also challenging you to evaluate thought patterns that might be holding you back and keeping you stuck. When working with children and adolescents, I take a child-centered, anti-adultist approach. I utilize child-centered play therapy, sand tray therapy, expressive arts therapy, and mindfulness practices. I have extensive experience working with children and teens who struggle with emotional regulation, trauma, anxiety, grief, learning differences, and life transitions. I hold additional training in Hand-in-Hand parenting, child-centered play therapy, filial therapy, and brainspotting. I am excited to offer brainspotting (BSP), an innovative trauma-informed therapy that combines aspects of EMDR, mindfulness, and brain and body-based therapies. It works by identifying, processing, and releasing core neurophysiological sources of pain, trauma, and a variety of other challenging symptoms. It is effective for a wide array of emotional and somatic conditions and can help decrease depression, anxiety, phobias, and addictions. The goal of brainspotting is to bypass the conscious, neocortical thinking (which is usually activated in typical talk therapy) to access the deeper, subcortical emotional and body-based parts of the brain where trauma is held. What is Brainspotting good for? Releasing traumatic experiences Do you find yourself reliving old hurts from your past, stuck and unable to let go? Brainspotting can help you release the charge these old hurts hold over you in a safe and non-threatening way. Clients find that after using Brainspotting to work on a traumatic "spot" they can still remember the event, but it doesn't hurt or upset them anymore. Letting go of old relationships Do you find yourself continuing to mourn the loss of a relationship, months or years after it has ended? Do you find yourself stuck in hoping this person would come back or worried you will never experience a love as deep? Brainspotting can you help you let go of the hurt and release this person with love so that you can open your heart fully to a new love that is sustaining, healthy, and reciprocal. Self-Criticism Do you doubt yourself often and find yourself being very hard on yourself for mistakes, perceived failures, or not achieving what you hoped you would by this point in your life? Brainspotting, parts work, and working in relational therapy can help you release the harsh inner critic and find self-compassion, a sense of wholeness and ease. Job Burn out Are you finding yourself uninspired by your work, fatigued, not performing your best, and maybe even dreading Monday mornings? Brainspotting can you you free up the mental space that is dragging you down and help you get reinspired to do the work you love or help you get ready to make a change that will better serve you. If you’d like to learn more about me or my services, please reach out to schedule a consultation call. I look forward to supporting you in your journey towards wholeness and authenticity. Phone: (415) 498-0714 Email: therapywithsuzy@gmail.com Office location: San Francisco |
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Kaitlin Dougherty, MA, AMFT
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist # 134801 Supervised and mentored by Karen Wolfe LMFT #53878 
I provide trauma informed, depth-oriented, psychotherapy to children, adolescents, and adults in Oakland and San Francisco. I work in a holistic manner, meaning that I not only tend to the mental aspects of self, but also the emotional, physical, spiritual, and cultural aspects as well. I aim to help my clients heal their relationships between these different parts of themselves, so that they can feel safe and at home internally, which hopefully leads to feeling that way more externally too. As an east coast native, my approach is direct, while also warm and kind, and a lot like picking up a rock to see what’s underneath. In other words, I work with my clients to bring to light the parts of themselves that have been hidden, so that they can experience their wholeness. I hold safety as a core value and also recognize it as a requirement in healing, therefore I aim to create clear, nurturing boundaries in our therapeutic relationship.
I love working with symbolism, which is why I love play therapy. For both children and adults, I use play and expressive arts as a language for the nonverbal parts of oneself to also be expressed and known. I also draw from an array of interventions including DBT, yoga nidra, somatic experiencing, and North American Indigenous psychology approaches. I am a member of an anti-racist therapist organization, working to dismantle racism in the mental health system. As a therapist, I see myself as a protector of safe spaces and a steward of psychological health, and therefore obligated to work towards the creation of a society that is safe for all. I welcome people from all walks of life. I love working with children and supporting parents and families, teenagers, and of course, adults too. If interested, please reach out to schedule a consultation call, where we can discuss what you're looking for and whether or not I can provide it. In any case, take care, and best wishes. Email: kaitlindoughertytherapy@gmail.com Office Location: Oakland |
Jennifer Cornell, MA, APCC & AMFT
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Katherine Behm, MA, AMFT
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #128241 Supervised and Mentored by Karen Wolfe #53878 |
Karen Wolfe, MA, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Founder and CEO of SF Bay Play Therapy and Nandi, the therapy dog |
Hi, you can call me Katie! I am an associate marriage and family therapist offering remote and in-person therapy in San Francisco for children, adults, couples, and families. I use an integrative model of therapy which draws from body-oriented, trauma-informed, and cognitive-behavioral techniques. The foundation of my work with clients is built on the relationship we have with one another. I meet my clients exactly where they are, and together, we co-create an environment where every part of them can safely emerge and be held with gentle curiosity.
My background working with children and families in a number of settings has informed my approach as someone who is both imaginative and practical. I understand the frustrations that can come, for example, with wanting to get out the door in the morning and being held up because your child has a sensory reaction to a new pair of shoes. I have also seen the profound shifts that can happen when we use our imaginations to find creative solutions to these kinds of practical hiccups. I strongly believe that every child is deeply good and, as such, has perfectly good reasoning behind their behaviors - even when those behaviors don’t always lead to their intended results or cause collateral damage. My goal is to help uncover that reasoning to get to the core of what your child is seeking and find ways to get them there safely. We do this through play, art, movement, and collaborative conversation. If you would like to learn more about how I work and explore if I would be a good fit for you or your family, please reach out to schedule a consultation call. Phone: (415) 890-3933 Email: Kbehm.therapy@gmail.com Office Location: San Francisco |
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist (California License # 53878) specializing in supporting families with children who struggle with social and behavioral challenges, anger management, shyness, anxiety, and sensory/learning differences as well as couples and women who want more connection and intimacy. I provide psychotherapy for adults, individual play therapy for children, parenting support, family therapy, social skills groups, and school-based support, including in-class coaching (aka "shadowing") and working closely with your child's teachers.
Whether working with individual adults, parents, or children, my style is warm, inviting, and proactive. I honor both exploration of what arises in the moment and goal-directed troubleshooting, tailoring therapy to what each unique individual needs. My approach to therapy is strongly integrative. I have extensive training in many varied modalities including Parenting by Connection (Hand in Hand Parenting), Floortime, Applied Behavior Analysis, Motivational Interviewing, Play Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, Sandtray/World Play, Depth Therapy, Mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Positive Psychology. Regardless of what approach is called for with a client, I emphasize the importance of developing a caring and supportive relationship in therapy, as I believe true change can only come about through a deep understanding of one another. I thank you for being on this path to awakening, to seeking the harmony and understanding you truly desire, and for taking the steps to make that a reality. This path is not always easy, but it is certainly worth it. I would be honored to support you along the journey. Please contact me with any questions or to set up an appointment. KarenWolfeTherapy@gmail.com If you are interested in my work with couples please visit www.EmbodiedRelationshipTherapy.com |
At SF Bay Play therapy we believe in transparency in therapy and so we offer you our resume's below with information about our education, experience, and background. We are happy to answer any questions you might have. Modeling open communication is an important part of who we are and how we practice therapy.
Suzy Young, LMFT |
Kaitlin Dougherty, AMFT |
Karen Wolfe, LMFT |
Jennifer Cornell, APCC |
Katherine Behm, AMFT
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