Oakland Berkeley East Bay Area Therapy for Anxiety and Stress - LGBTQ Queer Counseling - Somatic - Queer Therapist

Mindful Therapy for Anxiety, Self-Esteem, and Chronic Stress

California & Florida

book a free 15-Min Consultation
unsplash-image-u3yyYID6eP4.jpg
ssica Youseffi, Iranian Jewish therapist in Oakland providing LGBTQ+ affirming care
 

Hi! I’m Jessi.

I’m a licensed psychotherapist and Brainspotting practitioner providing online therapy for clients in California, and Florida.

I specialize in supporting individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression, self-criticism & perfectionism. My goal is to help you move though trauma and chronic stress so you can feel more grounded, whole, and confident in your own skin.

My practice is LGBTQ+ affirming, poly-friendly, and inclusive of marginalized identities. Whether you are navigating intergenerational healing or exploring identity and relationships, I provide a compassionate space tailored to your unique lived experience.

>> Read more about me 

 

Befriend Your Mind

unsplash-image-cRCpOoV0EVE.jpg
 
self.jpg
 

The way we relate to ourselves is key to our wellbeing.

However, in the face of hardship and failure we are often our own worst enemies.

I help my clients develop greater self-acceptance and self-compassion so they can walk through life with more confidence and resilience.

 

Feel more confident in your own skin

wiktoria-gasiorowska-5YKUUi6S_cs-unsplash.jpg
 

Do Any of The Following Resonate With You?

  • On the outside, you seem as though you have it all together…But on the inside you feel stressed-out, anxious and overwhelmed

  • You are driven to do more and be more… and you beat yourself up for not meeting your own high standards or the expectations of others

  • You’re a high achiever but you struggle to find meaning and purpose  

  • You engage in harsh self-scrutiny and judgement and you fear being disapproved of by others

  • Your relationship has become a source of stress and you want to feel more connected

  • You don’t feel good enough as you are

If so, I can help.

 
 

Services

I offer individual, relationship, adolescent and group therapy services to help you better understand the source of your distress, cultivate a compassionate connection with yourself and others, and develop strategies to lead a more satisfying and meaningful life.

 
  • Whether you're seeking support for depression, anxiety, stress, a relationship issue, or something else, I'm here to help. I provide secure online therapy for clients across the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley, as well as clients in Florida, including Miami, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.

    Read More

+ Relationship Counseling

Create healthier relationships with your partner(s) and family members. Together, we can work on developing new communication skills so that you can navigate relationship shifts and conflicts, or build more intimacy and trust.

Read More


+ Self-Compassion Group

Learn transformative skills to better handle difficult emotions, soften the inner critic, and cultivate a calmer and kinder mind.

Read More


+ Brainspotting & Trauma Therapy

Somatic therapy and Brainspotting offer alternative approaches to deepen our healing process. Rather than simply "talking about" our trauma, these tools help us dive in deep to access and release maladaptive thoughts, beliefs and behaviors resulting from trauma. The result is lasting change and nervous system regulation.

Read More


  • I provide queer and gender affirmative therapy to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals and couples in Oakland and Berkeley California and Online.

    Read More

+ Online Therapy

Want to work with me but my office is out of your way? I offer virtual therapy via secure video sessions. You can access therapy from the comfort of your home or wherever is convenient for you.

Read More


 
  • I support individuals and couples navigating the complex emotions of fertility and family building. Whether you are facing infertility, pregnancy loss, or difficult decisions, I provide a safe space to process grief, manage stress, and find resilience. Together, we will navigate your options and strengthen your relationships, ensuring you don't have to walk this path alone.

    Read More

  • Providing Specialized Virtual Care Across the Sunshine State

    While my practice is rooted in the Bay Area, I am a licensed psychotherapist and Brainspotting practitioner now offering specialized online therapy to individuals throughout Florida, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando.

    Read More

 

My Approach

 
mindful logo2-01.png
 

+ Mindful

Mindfulness-based therapy involves bringing awareness to what is arising in the moment with an open, curious and accepting attitude.

I can guide you to slow down the racing thoughts of your mind so that you can get in touch with your internal experience and dive beneath the content of your story.

We can work on turning towards and “being with” your present experience, rather than attempting to cling to, fix, resist or avoid pleasant or unpleasant inner content.

These practices can help you gain both insights and skills to better cope with life’s challenges.


+ Compassionate

I draw upon Compassion-Focused Therapy and Self-Compassion practices to help you cultivate a warm, caring and accepting attitudes towards yourself and others.

Developing self-compassion helps reduce shame, self-criticism, depression, and anxiety, and increases self-esteem, sense of self, and the ability to cope with challenging emotions and difficulties.

Compassion-based interventions can help you develop the capacity to soothe and motivate yourself in times of difficulties, and loosen the grip of self-critical thoughts.

These interventions can support you in developing greater intimacy with yourself, which in turn enhances your interpersonal relationships.


+ Somatic

Body-Oriented or Somatic Psychotherapy utilizes the experience of your physical body as an essential source of wisdom and insight.

The body is “the royal road to the unconscious,” and can help you access memories, emotions, and beliefs that you cannot access through thoughts or talk therapy alone.

By non-judgmentally tracking facial expressions, gestures, posture, tone of voice etc., I can help you to become more aware of your unconscious material, core beliefs, insights and needs.

This approach is also one of the best ways to help people suffering from trauma to regain a sense of inner safety so that they can re-enter and re-inhabit their bodies more fully.



Book a Free 15-Minute Consultation

 
 
 

"Compassion isn’t some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we’re trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don’t even want to look at."

Pema Chodron

 
unsplash-image-rxBPN5RqgAs.jpg