Therapy and Counseling Services

2nd Year Associates

 

“A tree with strong roots laughs at storms”

~Malay Proverb

They’ve been around a while, by now. The work of therapy and counseling is no longer a new endeavor, and clinicians in their second year of associateship have sunk into their professional identities with thousands of hours of experience. Additionally, they’ve already begun the licensing exam process, focusing on cultivating the highest ethical standards of the field alongside the legal requirements of being therapists. Click on their photos to learn more!

 
 
 

JULES PEITHMAN, MA. ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST #135486

TELEHEALTH and In-person Ecotherapy Sessions in Oakland, CA.

JPEITHMAN@AXISMUNDITHERAPY.ORG

510-617 5882

Supervised by Suraya Keating, LMFT #43996

I believe we all have the medicine we need to heal within us; I trust your own innate healing ability. I see my role as a therapist as accompanying you in finding your own inner healing ability. I hold my clients with love and passion for what I understand as sacred inner work. I approach my work with a wildly open heart. I help clients get in touch with their intuition and knowing.

Every therapeutic relationship is unique to each client. I tailor my approach to your unique needs and draw upon a myriad of theories and techniques to work with you. I primarily work with my intuition around what direction to take in our work together. My approach is heart-centered and intuition-lead.

In session, I bring intense presence and the ability to be in the here-and-now. My priority is making you feel cared for, heard and understood. I identify as a wild, free, authentic person, and I understand my path as accompanying individuals in stepping into their power and their full authentic self. I work with clients of all intersections with a primary focus on those at the intersections of BIPOC and/or LGBTQ.  In my work, I highlight the impact of power structures and systemic oppression on individuals and groups. Some of the main themes that exist in my work are transitions, grief, identity, & relationships (although I am open to the vastness and complexity of any part of your experience).

 
 

RAISSA ALVERO, MA. REGISTERED ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST # 131664

Office in Berkeley, CA

THERAPY@RAISSA-ALVERO.COM

510-876-4029

WWW.RAISSA-ALVERO.COM

Supervised by Margaret "Molly" Merson, MFT MFC #52483

I hold space for people who are facing life transitions, relationship struggles, family conflict and those who are healing from all forms of trauma. I utilize depth-oriented, liberation-focused and trauma-informed approaches to support people in gaining deeper awareness of the underlying issues that impact their relationships, sense of self and sense of belonging. I help people deepen and expand their capacity to experience, understand and be in relationship with themselves and with others. I believe that therapy is equal parts pain, love and liberation. As a therapist, I see my role as a guide who can co-create the balanced conditions of support and internal pressure ~ the optimal heat that allows the process of personal transformation to unfold.

 
 

NINA TORRES, Registered ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST #137528

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: SHE/siya

415-770-2010 (CALL OR TEXT)

NINA@NINATALKTHERAPY.COM

NINATALKTHERAPY.COM

Supervised by Elysha Martinez, LMFT #93493

If you’re feeling like you don’t belong, then you’ve nearly found yourself.

Our society keeps us fragmented from ourselves. Our days are overfilled but somehow we’re left empty; we’re constantly socializing, yet we feel lonely. We are starving for acceptance and connection, for someone to listen and understand. Maybe you feel out of place and overwhelmed. Maybe you’re standing alone against the insurmountable and need a safe place to rest. Or maybe you can’t find your guiding light and the world feels dark. If you’re having these experiences, I want to be there with you, to connect with you.

 
 

Mahesh Francis, Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #134572

Registered Associate Professional Clinical Counselor #12508

mfrancis.mahesh@gmail.com

Supervised by Elysha Martinez, LMFT #93493

Therapy can be such a beautiful, meaningful, life-changing, and inspiring experience. Therapy can also be a place where clients can feel missed, unseen, frustrated, and hurt. I believe in the importance of finding the right therapist for you! There is no such thing as a perfect therapist, but there is such a thing as a great fit. I believe that when you have a great fit, the therapeutic process can flow, and it’s easier to let down the guards and allow the healing process to manifest.

I am committed to my own healing journey, and I am committed to supporting my clients on theirs. My therapeutic approach is relational psychodynamic, and I have several years of experience working with anxiety, depression, identity issues, and systemic-related mental health challenges. I also have several years of experience working with Black, mixed-race, and clients of color.   I believe that a significant part of the healing journey is doing the work to reconnect with our authentic selves and bringing to light the ways that society, our families, and all of the people and things around us have influenced our understanding of who we are.

As a therapist, I consider myself warm, caring, and supportive. However, I am also focused and passionate about the healing journey. In session, we are not friends hanging out; rather, we are coming together to support your growth, emergence, and liberation in a friendly fashion!

 
 

Laura Piotrowski, Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #117706

(925) 304-3980

laurapio@axismunditherapy.org

Supervised by Brian Lim, LMFT #105034

You are welcome here. You CAN feel better in your mind/body and in your relationships. Together we will create space and opportunity for curiosity, safe exploration, and resourcing.

You may struggle to show up authentically and equally in your relationships with your partner. You may struggle as a parent with constant worry about how you are parenting and if you are enough. You may struggle to find solid ground as a family.

You can’t just talk your way out of this. Real change requires healing the whole person. The good news is you can learn to be in your body safely, learn how your thoughts feel, and grow your capacity for intense emotions and experiences. You can create positive change by learning to be present to yourself and others with kindness and compassion. You can learn to nurture your resilience and nourish your spirit.

 The answers and the healing are in you. You can live a life of connectedness, wholeness, and vitality. I am here to guide and support you. I am a somatically trained, holistically oriented therapist with an integrative approach. I bring over twenty-five years of experience in holistic counseling and bioenergetics, as well as personal experience with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD (CPTSD.) I am client centered and trauma informed. I’m a spouse, parent, and grandparent.

I see individuals, couples, and families with young children via telehealth.

 
 

JUSTIN HARRIS, MA. REGISTERED ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST #135145

TELEHEALTH AND OFFICE IN OAKLAND, CA.

CONNECT@THERAPYWITHJUSTIN.COM

415-890-4064

THERAPYWITHJUSTIN.COM

Supervised by Elysha Martinez, LMFT #93493

Thank you for being here, for taking this very large step towards your growth and towards enhancing your wellbeing. Whether you’re looking for support with a specific issue or to build on your insights and quality of life, I am here for you. I am a queer therapist and enjoy working with other LGBTQ+ individuals. I also enjoy working with adults, teens, and couples of all identities and intersections.

My interest is in getting to know you. To understand you. Not just who you are, but how you are. I believe in the process of therapy and its power, and that we engage in this process together. I trust you and your inner knowing to bring forward the aspects of you that are needing attention and care. We will discuss and explore those aspects together, looking at how and when they started, how you are experiencing them currently, and how we can increase support.

 
 

Grishma Gautam, REGISTERED ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST #137295 MA(SOM), MA(DMP)

TELEHEALTH AND OFFICE IN Walnut Creek, CA.

GRISHMAG@AXISMUNDITHERAPY.ORG

Supervised by Brian Lim, LMFT# 105034

“In disconnection, we crumble. In connection, we transform”. – Grishma Gautam

We are innately wired to live and heal in relationships, as answers to our struggles can unfold in our interconnectedness to ourselves and the life around us. So, let me reach out my hand to accompany you on your path of embodying your fuller self while navigating life’s struggles. In attunement, we will co-create a nourishing and tailor-made environment. When a safe and loving space is experienced, the innate tendency of the organism is to organically move toward inner wisdom, wholeness, and transformation.

We will collaboratively work on developing your somatic awareness, expanding on existing gifts, and non-judgmentally welcoming all parts of yourself to be celebrated and integrated.

As humans, we are multidimensional beings and are way too complex for an instant linear “fix”. Firstly, you are not broken for me to fix you. You are a whole being who may have temporarily lost their way to innate intelligence. In realigning to inner wisdom, both the pain and the medicine that we carry, and the next steps in growth will be revealed organically. My expertise is in guiding you and your expertise is in finding YOU!

 
 

HILA DEAN, Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #137857

hdean@axismunditherapy.org

206-923-8762

hiladean.com

Serving CA residents virtually

Supervised by William Ma, LMFT #96148

I specialize in a rainbow of neurodivergence, particularly for autistic-ADHD bodyminds, drug users, psychonauts, and other neuroqueers.

I offer reflexive, deconstructive, and integrative guidance for life optimization, anxiety, and meaninglessness; attention to jumping class; outlaw and high risk lifestyles; non-normative families and estrangement; forgetfulness, aging, and death anxiety; and ontological insecurity. I have been facilitating the integration of consciousness-expanding experiences since before Michael Pollan thought it was cool. I work within the relationship that we build, moving at your pace, and only instigating as much as we agree to.

I am inclined toward and identify with the renegade and Bodhisattva. I am autistic, queer, non-monogamous, white, femme-presenting, and I have been a student of meditation and yoga asana since 2002. I am from the rural Pacific Northwest, love epistemology, and I use a lot of gardening metaphors. 

 

DAVID CHUNG, MA. Registered ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPist #138933

562.267.9061

DCHUNG@AXISMUNDITHERAPY.ORG

davidchungtherapy.com

TELEHEALTH ONLY

Supervised by Elysha Martinez, LMFT #93493.

I am passionate about supporting clients on their evolving journey towards healing and wholeness, and my approach to therapy is non-pathologizing and client-centered — I will always respect your autonomy and honor your unique strengths and life experiences as essential to your unfolding. In sessions, I will meet you where you are with warmth and value you for your whole self. You will be seen and heard as we collaborate to develop strategies and skills to live a more connected, content, and authentic life.

I prioritize creating a supportive environment for clients from diverse and historically marginalized communities. Coming from a first-generation immigrant family, I recognize that our lives can often be impacted by familial and cultural pressures, systemic and intergenerational trauma, and childhood wounding. I hold compassionate space to unpack and explore these aspects of experience through a holistic, trauma-informed lens.

As a Queer ally and sex positive therapist, I also welcome clients who are seeking a supportive space to embrace all of their identities and ways of being. I also enjoy working with men to shed limiting beliefs around masculinity, supporting you to reclaim and redefine what your gender identity and expression mean to you.

 

LIS ELLE WERTH, MA. Registered Associate MARRIAGE AND FAMILY Therapist #138322

liselle@axismunditherapy.org

510-545-3520

www.liselletherapy.space

Supervised by Elysha Martinez, LMFT #93493

I incorporate somatic, psychodynamic, existential and humanistic, relational, dreamwork, DBT, psychedelic integration, attachment, developmental and systemic trauma, and intersectional lenses and frameworks as appropriate.

Those who tend to work with me are: people in couples/relationships, neurodivergent, highly sensitive, creatives, psychedelically-inclined, non-heteronormative and are working with anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, substance use, identity and security, shame, existential dread/spiritual emergence.

 

SARAH CONNOLLY, REGISTERED ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST #145129

510-696-0504

SCONNOLLY@AXISMUNDITHERAPY.ORG

TELEHEALTH ONLY

Supervised by Pablo Navarrete-Martinez, LMFT #113911

My passion is to help you attend to the pain and trauma that can arise on the parenting path so that you can live with ease in the present moment. 

I believe therapy can be most helpful when it’s mo re than thinking and talking. I leverage the potential of somatic, attachment-focused trauma therapy to bring deep healing and liberation from pain that is often carried across generations. At a safe pace, we can work together to tap into the messages you absorbed as a child, and discover how you learned to carry them in your body. We can shift these patterns and change how you act and react in the present moment. I offer a connected, nourishing, and safe way for us to release your trauma’s hold on you. Together, we will bring acceptance and compassion to all your emotions and experiences so you can let go of long-held modes of resistance and shame.

I have lived all of this myself, so nothing you can bring me is too much. I’ve faced the depths of my own pain and grief and returned to see the beauty of the world.

 

TRISTAN CRANE, REGISTERED ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST #143586

tristanctherapy@gmail.com

TELEHEALTH, ECOTHERAPY

Supervised by Elysha Martinez, LMFT #93493

It can be quite daunting to enter therapy, especially if it's a new experience for you. I engage collaboratively with my clients to create an environment which is affirming and supportive of your personal growth.

I work relationally and empathically with folks across a wide range of identities; specializing in lgbtq+ folks including those exploring or questioning aspects of their sexual or gender identity.

My framework is social justice oriented, I'm kink and sex-worker affirming and support clients in a wide range of relationship structures. 

 

ELI FUjita, Associate Clinical Social Worker #118495

510.646.1509

efujita@axismunditherapy.org

TELEHEALTH

Supervised by Elysha Martinez, LMFT #93493

Hello! I am a queer, nonbinary, and mixed-race clinician. My background is in college and career counseling and working with neurodivergent kids and young adults. I often incorporate mindfulness practices into my sessions to help with grounding and processing, and encourage clients to express themselves creatively in session in whatever way feels supportive to them.