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Meet Our Team Gabriella Elise Giorgio Janelle Malak Marina Mendes Rachel Kwon Grace Chan Michael Hung Emily Gaston Bret Hansen Kat Primeau bert wright Sharon Yu
 

Meet bert

I draw deeply from IFS, relational-cultural therapy, liberation psychology, narrative, and somatic approaches. My work is grounded in collaboration, client agency, and an understanding that our struggles are shaped by both our internal worlds and the larger systems we live within. Trauma doesn't happen in a vacuum. The oppressive systems that affect us, and the generations before us, leave lasting impacts, while the protective strategies we've developed to survive can continue long after they're needed. Together, we'll honor those strategies while exploring what needs updating so you can move through life with more choice, flexibility, and self-trust.

People experience me as warm, inviting, good-humored, patient, disarming, and calming. As a transgender non-binary and queer individual who came out in many ways later in life, I am intimately familiar with “queer time” (credit Jack Halberstam’s 2005 book In a Queer Time and Place)--a different way of relating to conventional life milestones, as well as the shifts in relationships to self and others that come with big life transitions.

I am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, #164075, supervised by Courtney Watson, LPCC #21190, trained in EMDR, Level 1 and 2 Gottman Couples Therapy, and informed by IFS. I specialize in LGBTQIA+ and trans-affirming therapy for individuals and couples.

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My clients are reorienting how they survive, belong, love, and understand themselves within systems imposed, inherited, and pre-defined by others.

I weave my commitment to collective liberation into my practice, recognizing that we are more than the individuals who sit in session, and that much of the distress that brings people to therapy comes from a loss of our interconnectedness, replaced by the false promises of oppressive systems.

I welcome people exploring gender and sexuality, consensual non-monogamy, polyamory, kink, and other relationship structures or identities that exist outside dominant social norms, such as:

  • Those navigating questions about their gender and sexuality, thinking through different ways of relating to lovers and friends that don’t perpetuate harmful systems. Some have already begun the work of a personal journey in queer identity but can’t seem to find a community that holds them through the joy and pain that can come with marginalization.

  • Those who have already experienced significant growth in therapy and are contending with the inevitable “next level” of work that comes with new awarenesses and secure connections to self and others.

  • Couples who feel exhausted by the cycles they are trapped in, defeated by how difficult it is to communicate in a way that reflects their love and their needs. Some feel strong in most areas but struggle with a particular intractable issue and need support and a different perspective.

  • People who are doing the deep work of breaking generational cycles, fearing that they might perpetuate familial cycles if they don’t interrupt them and make significant changes.

 

Our work together might help you feel more grounded in your emotions, develop greater self-compassion, strengthen your relationships, or better understand your internal world. Clients often leave therapy with a stronger sense of "I can take care of myself," "I'm going to be okay," or "I don't have to hide the parts of myself that carry shame." My hope is that therapy helps you build trust in yourself, find greater peace in your relationships, and live more fully in alignment with your values.

Whether you're processing trauma, navigating a life transition, exploring your identity, or simply feeling like something isn't working anymore, I'd be honored to work alongside you.

Special welcome to LGBTQIA+ • Generational cycle-breakers • Non-dominant relationships (CNM, kink) • Trans and gender expansive people • Anti-capitalists and organizers • Parents of queer/trans kids • Highly sensitive and introspective people

Postgraduate degree in marriage and family therapy: Pacific Oaks College, LGBTQIA+ Specialization

Specialized Training(s): Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Gottman Couples Therapy Levels 1 and 2, IFS-Informed Therapy, Child-centered Play Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Neurodiversity-affirming Care, Treatment of Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

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