John Edwards, L.C.S.W
Certified Psychotherapist, Brainspotting Practioner, Consultant and Trainer, and Gottman Therapist with 30 years of health care experience.Â
I am an LGBT-affirming, client-centered counselor who enjoys helping people transform their lives through the creation of amazing relationships with themselves and others.
How Would you like to Transform Your Life?
A great quality of life? A great relationship or marriage? Success at your job? Meaningful friendships?
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Would you like to transform your harsh inner critic into your biggest cheerleader?
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Needing to get rid of guilt, shame, not feeling good enough, anger, people pleasing and perfectionism?
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I can help you not just feel better but heal and recover from all the crap that's been holding you back. You can create the life you want. In this healing process and journey you may laugh, cry, get angry as you come to understand yourself and your emotional world and transform your life to one that you want.
You can make changes and start to enjoy your family, friends, work and life. Yep, it is totally doable.
Start your journey to transforming your life, and experience the joys and connections as a parent, spouse/partner, daughter, son, child, relative, boss, employee, or friend.
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Call Now to Schedule a 15-minute complimentary conversation.
Counseling Benefits
Gain Confidence
Obtain Clarity on issues
Find joy and happiness
Learn effective coping skills
Improve communication
Greater self acceptance
Effectively manage stress
Heal from pain and trauma
Reach your full potential
Counseling Types
I provide a variety of transformative services to both groups and individuals
Counseling Specialties
Below are the common afflictions I provide treatment and transformation for in my practice.
Depression
Do you feel slowed down?
Find it hard to have fun?
Can't shake that "sad" feeling?
Got a dark cloud following you around?
Feeling hopeless or helpless?
No longer enjoying things you once did?
Depression can be a real downer. I invite you to make the decision to reduce your suffering and get expert help to bring meaning, joy, and contentment into your life.
Addiction
Drinking too much?
Too much weed?
Over using pain pills?
Shopping out of control?
No one sets out to become addicted to drugs, alcohol, shopping, or gambling.
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Explore your emotional wounds and give yourself permission to heal so that you can regain or obtain the quality of life that you want.
Anxiety
Feeling tense and wound up?
Do you worry about everything?
Having difficulty sleeping because too much is on your mind?
Do you typically expect the worse to happen?
Having a hard time making decisions?
Anxiety does not have to take over your life. Counseling or psychotherapy is an excellent choice to help you manage this life challenge.
Trauma
Have you experienced events that still haunt your thoughts and emotions? Lingering wounds from the past affecting your present? Trauma is a powerful force that can impact our lives in profound ways.
No one chooses to carry the weight of trauma. It's a burden that can be lightened through understanding, support, and healing. Together, we'll navigate the path toward recovery, addressing the emotional wounds that linger beneath the surface.
Eating Disorders
Does the thought of eating stress you out?
Do you eat in an effort to manage your emotions? Do you not eat in an effort to manage your emotions? Is food a minefield for you? Do you feel like you're the only man with this issue?
Do you engage in any of these activities:
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obsessively counting calories
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have good foods and bad foods, clean foods
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binging and purging
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compulsive eating
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restricting or starving
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laxative abuse
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Learn how to recover and heal from the emotional turmoil that causes these behaviors.
Couples Therapy
Do you love your partner/spouse but no longer like him or her?
Is your marriage relationship in trouble?
Communication problems?
Are you at a loss as to what to do next?
Almost all couples and relationships experience periods of significant stress at various times. Most people express that communication is the number one difficulty in their relationship.Â
The average couple waits 6 years after they recognize that they are having problems before they seek expert help. Learn how to save your marriage or relationship through the art of communication and build solid communication skills so that you can be the best spouse/partner at maintaining a healthy marriage or relationship.
I am one of only 500 certified Gottman Therapists in the United States. Â
Counseling Fees
West Coast Psychotherapy does not take insurance.
Contact Me
2939 Summit Street
Suite 203
Oakland, CA 94609
510-213-9284
We value your trust, and that includes protecting your privacy. We never sell your information or share your email address with any third parties for marketing purposes. You can see more details in our Privacy Policy.
In-Person Appointments
John provides in-person services to clients in the Bay Area and beyond. Below is the map to the office. Click on the "learn more" button below to see more images and get details of the in-person location.
Here's the thing about counseling.....
​Effective counseling is designed to move you from emotional dysregulation to emotional regulation. Counseling is NOT simply sitting and talking with someone although this is quite a popular belief. The pain, suffering and emotional damage that we have experienced in life almost always causes us to focus on what's wrong, how bad it is and what can't be done. Perhaps you are emotionally burnt out and long for a different quality of life.
Of course your brain and body naturally want what's best for you but the process of achieving what's best for you is totally caught up in the drama of the emotional damage you have sustained.
As a result, you may spend a lot of time and effort engaging in the same unhelpful patterns and behaviors hoping for a different result. What you may not realize is that these unhelpful patterns and behaviors are your brain and body's attempts at making things right and achieving what's best. The challenge is to how to get your brain and body to do what's helpful plus achieve and maintain the change that you desire. One of the most effective ways to bring about life change is through somatic counseling which engages your limbic system or emotional brain and your body.
Does somatic counseling really work?
Answer: A resounding YES!!!
Counseling is about transforming from a life of chaos, hopelessness, despair, disorganization, dysregulation and emotional imbalance to a life of order, hope, joy, organization, regulation and emotional wellness.
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Somatic counseling sessions with me creates the space for your brain and body to heal and recover from past trauma and negative events which are blocking your efforts to grow and expand into the person you are meant to be. In other words, your emotional regulation system, that is, your brain and body work cooperatively and as intended so you can have an amazing efficient and effective system to successfully manage the challenges and joys of life. This is about taking care of the past so that you can have an amazing future.
Somatic counseling allows you the opportunity to change and transform the narrative or story that you tell yourself and believe about yourself that holds you back. You know, the stories that you secretly keep inside but are quite noticeable at 2am when you can't sleep. Healing your brain and body allows you to have the future you desire.
The stories that say:
You are NOT
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worthy
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smart
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valuable
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deserving of good things in life
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confident
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able to make great decisions
Visualize your future life once the pain and fear of the past have been healed.
The stories that say:
You ARE
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worthy
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smart
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valuable
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deserving of good things in life
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Feel confident
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Able to make excellent decisions
But there's somewhat of a catch....
Clearly there are tons of people who need counseling. However, needing counseling and wanting counseling are two very distinct things. A lot of people who need counseling do not want it. Frankly, that's ok.
However, if you desire to change your life, somatic counseling with me requires that you commit and work to transform your inner self through connect with and use of your limbic system or emotional brain and your body. You will learn to recognize and listen to your body voice and not just your neocortex.
Sounds great where do I sign up?
Are you ready to stop what ever unhelpful patterns or cycle you're in?
We only spend money and time on things we believe will make us feel a certain way either immediately or eventually. In the case of counseling, it's an investment of time and money to transform your life.
Many folks want immediate results from counseling and to be honest this may or may not happen to varying degrees. The truth is, you're a complex person with a complex history therefore the counseling process will be complex. The most essential element for a successful counseling process is a willingness to engage in a self exploratory process and engage in the brain and body activities designed to help you transform your life.
Perhaps you're thinking "Yeah, yeah but can you fix me?" Trust me, if I could fix you I would but I can't. I CAN help you create the emotional space and environment in which you can heal, recover, grow and expand.
Contact me if you're ready to stop repeating the same unhelpful patterns and behaviors and stop the cycles of drama, shame, self criticism and doubt.
Somatic counseling is one of the most effective processes out there to bring about change and transformation to your life. Unfortunately, counseling is still viewed as a 1900 Vienna style process and I am NOT a 1900s Vienna style psychotherapist.