Anger and Our Silent and Not-So-Silent Rebellion

Versailles - Château de Versailles - Salle de 1830“Rebellion”: I think French Revolution, bayonets, chaos in the streets, the masses rising up in the face of injustices perpetuated for far too long. I imagine overt, gruesome details of foreign movie notoriety – the kind of violence that actually keeps you awake at night, not the sensationalized world of special effects. To me, rebellion connotes class warfare, slave revolts, and the overdue response to oppression and persecution. Rebels seem courageous, romanticized, morally-motivated risk takers (if they’re on the right side of history). They’re the Tiananmen Square protesters of 1989; the Buddhist monks in Myanmar; the Harriet Tubmans and Rosa Parks’ of the world. They believe in a cause more than they fear death, and the status quo won’t do.

November 29, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Group Forming to Address Complexities of Parenting

My supervisor, Marsha Hiller (MFT #30216), is forming a parents’ process group to begin in January. It will be an exploration for parents to transform old family patterns by looking at the legacy of how they were parented. Some of the issues that will be addressed will be school pressures, setting limits, self-regulation (both yours and your children’s), balancing adult needs and children’s needs, and much more.

The group will meet on Thursday evenings in North Berkeley, and for more information, the flyer is below. The group is open to parents with children of any age.

November 20, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

“Like” the New Facebook Page

Joining the 21st  century, I’ve created a Facebook page for my therapy practice: http://www.facebook.com/HolisticGardner1. I plan to post articles and tidbits about psychology and related material.

Please “like” us if you’re interested in following the updates.

The Facebook page will NEVER compromise the client-therapist confidentiality laws that are so integral to the profession.

October 24, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

Administrative Change Beginning November 1

Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center logoI am pleased to announce that starting November 1, 2012, I will be joining the Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center, a non-profit counseling center in various Bay Area locations. This is an administrative change and will not impact my work with clients nor my supervision with Marsha Hiller (MFT #30216).

The Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center offers psychotherapy to individuals, couples, children, and families. The Center was founded in 2006 by Marriage and Family Therapist Mary Owen as a place where the general public could get counseling services, and Marriage and Family Therapy Interns could get training and clinical hours towards their Marriage and Family Therapy license. Currently, interns are practicing in Berkeley, San Francisco, Oakland, Albany, and San Jose. The Center is experiencing a time of growth with the hire of a new Executive Director, Victoria Timpe.

October 7, 2012Permalink Leave a comment

The Truth and Fallacies of Personal Responsibility

As I was thinking about what to write about this month, the now infamous 47% Mitt Romney donor video came out. “Do I really want to write about politics?” I wondered. It’s definitely not something I usually write about, and I don’t want to get into contentious debate. I want all of my clients – no matter what their political affiliation – to feel comfortable with me. I feel very strongly about inclusion and welcoming everyone into my office.

September 30, 2012Permalink Leave a comment