An Intentional Approach to the Self: Consciousness, Compassion & Agency

As a clinical psychologist for over twenty years, I specialize in women’s mental health, addressing a range of issues including relationships, prenatal and postpartum adjustment, parenting, menopause, body image and eating disorders, addiction, anxiety, depression, grief and loss. I help individuals process their emotions and build inner capacities to navigate the inevitable challenges we all face in life. My clinical style combines a psychodynamic approach — understanding one’s childhood conditioning — with mindfulness-based cognitive and somatic therapy. I seek to create a safe environment where individuals identify and attend to their deepest needs. The goal is to help people live happier, more intentional and fulfilling lives.

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”   —Carl Jung

  • NARM Master Therapist

    NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) is an integrative, somatic therapy focused on healing developmental, relational and complex trauma. Therapist and client work collaboratively to align with the client’s personal intentions and deepest desires. NARM therapy identifies and deconstructs survival strategies, identity distortions and attachment patterns that stand in the way of actualizing one’s authentic self.

  • Maternal Mental Health

    Women’s mental health is most vulnerable throughout their reproductive years. Many of my clients face enormous challenges juggling their professional work with the physical and psychological changes of pregnancy, the overwhelm of child-rearing, the demands of relationships and the hormonal shifts of menopause. I have worked with hundreds of women through these challenging periods to help build resilience, develop insight and ultimately, cultivate self-acceptance and equanimity.

  • Parent Consultation

    I offer consultations to parents, teachers and schools to better understand their role in fostering healthy child development. My approach stems from my own doctoral research on mother/daughter relationships, as well as my in-depth studies with Dr. Gordon Neufeld, author of Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers. I aim to empower parents and caregivers to become more present and understand the healing potential they can have in their children’s lives. 

  • East-West Integration

    Meditation, Yoga and Ayurvedic principles deeply influence my clinical work. With many years of studying in India, I aim to integrate Western psychology and Eastern philosophy as outlined in texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and The Yoga Sutras, and most importantly, the teachings of Dr. Shankara Narayana Jois, author of The Sacred Tradition of Yoga.

  • Teens and Young Adults

    Teens and young adults face increasing challenges in today’s world of technology and social media as they struggle to develop a healthy sense of self. I deeply enjoy working with clients at this stage of their lives, as the therapy can offer an opportunity to strengthen inner self-awareness, digest past traumas, address body issues, treat eating disorders and build healthy ego-strength required to confidently launch into the world.

  • Couples Therapy

    The mental health of any individual is intricately bound to the mental health of our most intimate relationships. In ancient Indian philosophy, the couple is referred to as, “the tree and the vine”. Moreover, couples’ work can have an enormous impact on children’s health and wellbeing — both in and outside the family. My training in couples therapy includes work with Dr. John Gottman, Terry Real, and the teachings of Dr. Shankara Narayana Jois.

I see therapy as a deep commitment to self-understanding and a practice of cultivating self-connection. — Dr. Gillian Lerner 

ABOUT ME

I’ve been working in the field of mental health for more than twenty-five years. Raised in New York City, my education, research, writing and ongoing studies have focused on women’s health, mother-daughter relationships, Eastern spirituality and mindfulness practices. (My doctoral dissertation, entitled “Mothers, Daughters and The Female Body”, explores the complex relationship between mothers and daughters and its impact upon a daughter’s sense of her own body.) Today, I’m a wife, mother and a longtime practitioner of meditation, Yoga and Ayurveda — all of which deeply influence my clinical work as a psychologist. 

I began my professional career in 1998 with a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work, where I worked in hospitals, clinics and agencies. Prior to my doctoral studies, I made the first of what would become many trips to India — studying Yoga, Ayurveda and meditation under the guidance of Dr. Shankara Narayana Jois. This early interest in Eastern teachings and spirituality ultimately lead me to pursue a doctoral degree at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), where I was drawn to the transpersonal aspects of Carl Jung’s philosophy of the psyche, which includes the conscious, unconscious and spiritual aspects of the individual. I embarked upon a depth-oriented psychodynamic approach and was a therapist in-training at the Community Institute for Psychotherapy, working with adults, adolescents, couples and families. I completed my predoctoral internship at the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, and my postdoctoral training at Marin County Community Mental Health where I trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), as well as psychiatric emergency services. I opened my private practice in 2004 with an offices in San Francisco and Marin County.

My ongoing professional training has included studies with Dr. Gordon Neufeld and his attachment-based developmental model — work that has made an enormous impact on my own approach to parenting and understanding the role parents play in facilitating the healthy development of their children. I’ve trained extensively with Dr. Richard Miller at the Integrative Restoration Yoga Institute (iRest), using ancient teachings of Yoga and meditation to heal trauma, build resilience and cultivate peace and equanimity. I’m also a certified Neuro Affective Relational Model (NARM) Master Therapist. I have confidence in the efficacy of NARM as a model in treating developmental trauma, witnessing clients release old identity distortions and shift into their adult consciousness with feelings of acceptance, expansion and love.

In addition to my private practice, I consult with schools, parents, hospitals and other organizations on child development, parenting, technology use, eating disorders, body image and self-esteem as related to children, adolescence and young adults. I teach Yoga and Ayurvedic lifestyle retreats and am a co-facilitator of the Jivana Yoga Program, which offers classes and retreats in India, Portugal and the U.S.. I currently live in West Sonoma County with my husband and our 16 year-old son. I am a devoted seeker and learner, and continue ongoing trainings and study of the human psyche and the quest for inner peace.

Contact Me

Currently I see most of my clients through a secure HIPPA approved video platform. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.