Who I am

Hello! My name is Tal (he / him). I am a white, queer, trans (genderfluid, genderqueer, transmasc), neurodivergent, able-bodied, straight-sized, tender-hearted, non-pathologizing person working as a therapist on Ohlone land (general Bay Area, office located in Oakland).

Registered Associate MFT #145534

Registered Associate MFT #145534

B.A., Psychology & Human Development
Prescott College

M.A., Integral Counseling Psychology
California Institute of Integral Studies

Associate Marriage & Family Therapist
Tender Heart Healing Arts

I fell in love with therapy as a modality of healing for the first time when I encountered Gestalt therapy in undergrad. I remember feeling seen and present in a striking way, both experiencing being a client in Gestalt therapy and eventually starting to practice being a therapist. I had a deep feeling of knowing in my counseling skills class in undergrad as we started practicing with our peers—a feeling of knowing that this is the work I was being called to do in the world.

I experience therapy as a very sacred space that is co-created between therapist and client; a space in which pain, sadness, joy, wonder, embarrassment, longing, love—and much more—can be revealed, released, and attended to with care and love.

I work very relationally. I bring myself into the therapeutic container, and acknowledge my identities and how they might interact with yours. When I feel it is therapeutically appropriate, I disclose to you what I am feeling or experiencing relationally with you. I view therapy as a microcosm of your world. The relationship that we build will provide insight for you about how you show up in other relationships in your life. Part of my job as a therapist is to observe and notice what happens between us, and share that with you if I believe it will contribute to your awareness of yourself.

Gestalt Training
Arizona Gestalt Institute
Jan. to Dec. 2019

Gender Advocate Training
TACT (Trans Advocacy & Care Team)
Aug. to Sept. 2022

Practicum
Church Street Integral Counseling Center
Jan. to Dec. 2023

DvT Training
iWest
Sept. 2023 to Jun. 2024

I want to acknowledge my teachers, mentors, and therapists, who have held me, taught me, guided me, and modeled for me the love and authenticity I hope to be able to bring to my own clients: Tony Himes, Ellen Abell, Avery Phipps, Liz Abrams, Danielle Herrera, Debbie Stone, Vicky Spiers, Alicia Stephens, and Marie Broadway.

FAQ

  • Come to therapy to know yourself more deeply. It may be uncomfortable sometimes—acknowledging the truth can be painful and scary. My hope is that we can build a container together in which it is a little more bearable to sit with your discomfort or pain, and to slowly allow for more contact with it and spaciousness around it—allowing new possibilities to emerge. Things I believe are possible in therapy: transformation, release, rest, becoming, learning, playfulness, joy, relational healing.

  • I work with queer and trans people, and welcome clients who do not fit those identities.*

    I am particularly interested in working with—but not limited to—relationship dynamics, gender and sexuality exploration, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, sensitivity, neurodivergence, inner child work, fat justice / liberation, and connecting to self-expression.

    I invite clients who are sitting with the questions of… How can I live fully as myself? What's happening in my relationship to self? To others? To the world?

    *Must be located in the state of California.

  • Respect for autonomy and boundaries, warmth, compassion, creativity, curiosity, care, challenge, understanding—all through a non-pathologizing approach to human interaction.

    I value supporting you in your authentic expression beyond constructs and rules. I work very experientially—not just always sitting and talking. Experiments could be somatic, parts work, empty chair work, play, art, movement, etc.

  • I am currently seeing most clients online, and do have some limited in-person spots available. Please let me know if you have preferences for either when you reach out.

  • My fee schedule is available here.

  • I do not currently take insurance, but can provide a superbill for you if needed.

  • If you are looking for a therapist who is… heart centered, warm, honest, deeply caring, intuitive, relational, and attuned to the present moment. I am open to meeting you in your multidimensional and multifaceted experience as a human. I embrace imperfection, and have acceptance of your humanness as silly, weird, messy, gross, and not something you always have to apologize for. I hope we can meet each other in that space if it feels like a good fit.

  • I work through the lens of Gestalt therapy, relational therapy, liberation psychology, and feminist theory, with a trauma-focused approach.

  • Gestalt therapy is a humanistic and existential modality of therapy that supports and challenges the client to be with their material in the here-and-now. For example, rather than talking about an emotion, being with an emotion. In this client-centered approach to therapy, I hold you as the expert of your own experience and refrain from explaining or interpreting. Gestalt (meaning “whole”) views a person as a unified whole that is more than the sum of their parts. While grappling with these different parts of yourself, rather than trying to fix something, Gestalt encourages acceptance of self, which will in turn facilitate change. Awareness is a key element towards change in Gestalt—awareness of thoughts, feelings, fantasies, physical sensations, etc. Awareness is the starting point of an exploration of your experience.