About our Therapists
|
Hannah Rudsten, MA
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #105298 Supervised and mentored by Karen Wolfe, LMFT #53878 |
Maggie Pantoni, MA
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #117959 Supervised and mentored by Karen Wolfe, LMFT #53878 |
|
|
|
For the past 16 years it has been Hannah’s deep-rooted passion to help children and adults who struggle with anxiety, depression, and low-self esteem. Hannah’s clients have described her as authentic, compassionate, and having a welcoming heart. She brings creative new ideas to the therapy room.
When working with her clients, her approach is multifaceted focusing on experiential modalities that include play, art, drama, and mindfulness. Hannah uses play, humor and a strength based mentality to help develop safety and trust for a strong therapeutic alliance. Art enables clients who are more comfortable expressing themselves with minimal words to do so in a safe environment. Theater games, story telling, role playing and metaphors are all powerful ways that help build empathy and explore her client’s emotions more deeply. Guided imagery and mediation provide tools to quiet their minds to be able to look inside themselves to discover their inner wisdom and truth. Hannah has utilized these mixtures of techniques in youth development centers, schools, nature-based mentoring programs, and mental health clinics. Hannah’s speciality is working with female-identified children and young adults who struggle with social anxiety, self-confidence, life transitions, and creating healthy relationships. She leads expressive arts pro-social and emotional skill based groups. No matter what the modality is, Hannah believes in commitment, consistency and meeting her clients where they are, acting as a guide and voice encourager as they move in the direction of their own path. HRudstenTherapy@gmail.com 510.485.9757 Office Location: 3655 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94610 |
When I began my journey into mental health work, I knew that I would end up working with families. While you may be facing issues that mirror or appear similar to another’s, each family has a distinct culture that is unique to them. My aim is to learn about your family landscape in order to identify your strengths as well as your stuck areas. It is my belief that looking at the family system as a whole can help empower you to resource yourself with the ingredients you already have in your cupboard. In this way, we are working to improve a recipe that you have been making for years, which makes the therapeutic process feel manageable, playful, and within your reach.
My work as a play therapist has taught me that parents often feel overwhelmed by the host of expectations placed upon them, and how challenging it can be to juggle them all. How can I be the perfect parent, employee, person, or spouse—with the limited amount resources and hours in a day? When this very normal pressure mounts, it can throw off the balance of the family system. With very careful attunement to your family’s specific strengths and edges, I can provide gentle nudges back towards harmony. My work as a play therapist allows me to enter into a child’s world using the language of play, the primary mode of communication for children. Children express themselves most fully through play, and you can think of the work of a play therapist as the work of translator, transcribing play into language. This helps parents and caregivers gain a deeper understanding of how to meet children’s needs. I have worked with children and their families to help manage anxiety, sadness, grief, aggression, self-esteem, bullying, rigid thinking/behaviors, divorce, and life transitions. I support families with a spirit of warmth and authenticity in attempt to create an environment of trust and safety. I tend to be rather direct, with a relaxed and off the cuff style of relating. The cornerstone of my practice is collaboration, wherein you will draw upon you, your child, and your families’ inner strengths to guide our path towards healing and harmony. At the end of the day, the therapeutic process is a relational one. The best therapy is done when two people feel comfortable in each others presence, so I look forward to connecting and seeing if we are a good fit for one another. maggiepantonitherapy@Gmail.com Office Location: 3150 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110 |
|
Karen Wolfe, MA, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Founder and CEO of SF Bay Play Therapy |
Jerrica Danhoff, MA
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #118100 |
Nandi, the Therapy Dog.
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. (415) 420-9459 KarenWolfeTherapy@gmail.com If you are interested in my work with couples please visit www.EmbodiedRelationshipTherapy.com |
Parenting is hard work. One of the biggest challenges about being a parent is feeling stuck or unable to help your child when you know they are struggling. Whether your child is struggling socially, going through family/life transitions, aggressive behavior, experiencing anxiety, or having difficulty regulating their emotions. I am here to help. I have worked with children in many different capacities. I enjoy working with families and making sure everyone’s voice is heard. I have worked with both neurodiverse and neurotypical children of all different ages.
I have experience working in many different settings including a child’s home, school, out in the community, a center for disability services, in the therapy office, and in social skills groups out in nature. During my training in these multiple settings, I have had the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience with ADHD, Autism, sensory processing challenges, self-regulation, rigid behaviors, aggression, social anxiety, depression, anxiety, oppositional defiance, grief, shyness, bullying, body image, transitions, and self-esteem for all of which I welcome in my practice. I support families who are struggling to communicate with each other and feel heard. I provide helpful tools that families can practice using outside the therapy office. My work with families is collaborative, which means we all work together to build more love and connection within your family system. I am here to support you and your child, making sure to highlight their strengths and work on their challenges in a fun and loving way. Raising a child is a full time job and I want to support parents when they feel overwhelmed or stuck. My style of therapy is warm, authentic, and unique to each client. I work with adults, adolescents, children, parents, and families. I really enjoy supporting children to find their own voice and helping them access their inner-strength. I believe healing comes from the therapeutic relationship with my clients. Building a relationship based off of safety and trust can allow healing to unfold. I look forward to connecting with you and having the possibility of supporting you along your journey. Please contact me with any questions or to set up an appointment. jerricadanhoffpsychotherapy@gmail.com (415) 894-0103 https://www.jerricadanhoff.com/ |
At SF Bay Play therapy we believe in transparency in therapy and so we offer you our CV's below. 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.
|
|
|
|
|