Greg Kaplan
Marriage & Family Therapist - LMFT
Many people who consider starting work with a psychotherapist face three questions. What is psychotherapy? How does it work? And most importantly… What can it do for me? Psychotherapy is a place where you can talk about your problems with someone who’s on your side. This person listens to you with compassion, understanding and acceptance. In discussing your experiences, we examine them from both the content level and the emotional level, working to see patterns that exist in how you relate to yourself and others. We study different aspects of your experience, including your thoughts, feelings, memories, impulses, sensations in your body, and spirituality. What can it do for you? It can help resolve long-standing dilemmas, whether they’re relationship issues with partners, family members, or friends, as well as your relationship with yourself. One of the key goals of psychotherapy is to assist with your feeling more comfortable in your own skin, in addition to feeling safer, both inside and out in the world.
Clients tell me they appreciate my interactive and supportive, results-oriented style. I can help you heal issues from the past, and resolve present-day problems, using highly effective holistic techniques, including: The Hakomi method – a mindfulness and somatic/body-centered therapy; Gestalt – a powerful way of exploring core feelings that are present in the moment; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – identifying and changing negative thoughts and behaviors that cause us distress; Strength-Based/Positive Psychology – building upon our existing strengths and resources; Somatic Experiencing (SE) – a body-centered approach to calming the effects of some past trauma; and the Humanistic Psychodynamic Approach – in which we examine patterns that were formed in the past to protect, but no longer serve us in the present. I am also certified in the use of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), which is a highly effective and time-efficient method for resolving the negative effects of past trauma or PTSD.
Having been in the counseling field for over 15 years, and having done a lot of my own personal psychotherapy, I bring a wealth of heart and experience into my work with my clients. In addition to having worked with adult individuals and couples at Blue Oak Therapy Center in Berkeley, I’ve counseled adults/senior citizens at Crisis Support Services of Alameda County, and have worked on their crisis phone lines. At the Pacific Center for Human Growth and the UCSF AIDS Health Project, I facilitated short and long-term support/therapy groups. I’ve also counseled teens and facilitated support groups at Holden High School.
My previous profession was teaching English as a Second Language, having earned my Master’s in that subject area and taught recent immigrants at City College of San Francisco and Golden Gate University. My undergraduate education was in Asian Studies at UC Berkeley, including a year of study in Japan.
Skills and Expertise
Abuse / Survivors of Abuse
Adjusting to Change / Life Transitions
Adult
Aggression and Violence
Anxiety
Attachment Issues
Breakups
Career Counseling
codependency-2
college age
Commitment Issues
Communication Problems
Control Issues
Couple Counseling
Coping Mechanisms
Depression
Divorce
Divorce and Divorce Adjustment
Domestic Abuse
Domestic Violence
Emotional Abuse
Emptiness
Family Conflict
Family of Origin Issues
Fear
Gay Issues
grief
Guilt
Helplessness and Victimhood
HIV / AIDS
Irritability
Jealousy
LGBTQ
Life Coaching
Life Purpose
Loss
Loss or Grief
Marital Therapy
Marriage Couseling
Men
Mens Issues and Problems
Midlife Crisis
Mindfulness based therapy
Multicultural Concerns
Obsessions and Compulsions
Panic
Perfectionism
Physical Abuse
Polyamory and Nonmonogamous Relationships
Relationship Issues
Self Esteem
Sexual Abuse
Sex Therapy
Sexual assault
Sexual Minorities
Spirituality
Stress
Trauma and PTSD
Treatment Orientation
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Eclectic
EMDR
experiential
Gestalt
Humanistic
Interpersonal
Marital Couple/ Family Communication Therapy
Mindfulness
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
Person Centered Therapy
psychotherapy
Relational Therapy
Solution Focused Brief Therapy
Solution Focused Therapy
Somatic
Transpersonal
Trauma Focused Therapy
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Modality