African-American Therapists
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African-American Therapists
August 2010
My son was adopted as a baby from Latin America and is now entering
young adulthood. He is struggling with identity issues and anger.
Can anyone please recommend a 1st rate male therapist of color
(preferably black, Latino, South Asian, or mixed race)? We are
hoping for someone who will take HMO insurance.
anonymous
Our son who is African American and adopted has been going to Frank
Davis for 3 years now. It has been a life changing event for our son
and keeps us the parents on an even keel. He is extremely dedicated
to supporting young boys into men and a cool guy too. Excellent
communication with the families. Cannot recommend him too highly.
Frank Davis
510- 390-4025
2000 Dwight Way St. C
Berkeley, CA 94704
Allison
I'm presuming that he is a teen which is when a lot of this comes
up. There is some value in more psychodynamic therapy but it also has
limitations with teens since a lot of their view is influenced by
peers. Face-to-face therapy can only accomplish so much. A good
bilingual therapist who grew up in Mexico is Sam Tabachnik at
510-845-3525 but he is not an adoption specialist. For an
adoption/attachment specialist talk to Susan Love 684-0045 or Virginia
Keeler-Wolf 339-9363. For having your son in a group of his peers that
he identifies with and struggling with these same issues contact PACT
An Adoption Alliance or Coyote Coast. Best wishes. This is very
challenging. Feel free to contact me.
david
I was given this reference:
If the family is willing to take the BART into downtown San
Francisco, Dr. Luis Perez would be a good fit. He is excellent.
http://pvrcare.com/
Jan
Forrest Hamer in Oakland is a very highly regarded therapist. He's
African American. Not sure if he works with adults only, or not. My
friend who sees him is an adult.
Harriet
Sept 2004
Hi-
I'm looking for an African-American therapist for a female
adult. I'd prefer a female, but a male would do if I couldn't
find a female that worked for me. Please send any leads you
have - I've done some research on my own and haven't found much.
I've seen the listings of African American males on the web
site, but thought someone might know of African American female
therapists.
Thanks!
I have a friend, Michell Love, that may be available. Try her
on her personal email: MichellLuv AT aol.com.
Lena
Joy Johnson is wonderful (501-658-1966) 34th St. Oakland
There are other African-American female therapists in her
building - don't know the names but she could refer you.
Iris Stallworth Grayling and Veronique Thompson are both African
American women therapists in Berkeley. I do not have contact
information for either, but you can look them up in information.
They are both quite competent and empathetic and I believe they
are experienced with issues facing African American women in
particular. Iris, I believe is less hands on than Veronique but
both are very qualified to handle both individuals as well as
couples. I am not sure either of them is taking on new clients,
however, they might be able to make referrals to others.
I am a professional woman of African descent who grew up in
Latin America and the US, identify mostly as African American
(secondly as Afro-Caribbean) and have tried them both and had
good experiences. I felt like they both understood my issues
really well, are very empathetic and really want to help you to
reach your own solutions. However, I felt like I needed a more
hands-on approach, so Iris's approach only worked so far for
me. It depends on your style, but you should try each one out
and see what approach works best for you. Above all, it is
important to connect with this somewhat obscure network of
therapists of color in order to make a decision that is right
and comfortable for you.
Good Luck
Oct 2005
If we had a doubt about the value of marriage counseling, the great postings here have
convinced us to go for it - now we need to find a counselor. We'd like to find a person
of color (black or mixed would be best). Any recommendations? Thanks!
I would recommend Bola Cofi of San Francisco. Her e-mail is
BCofi at aol.com. My husband and I went to a couple of other
therapists and I ended up feeling worse than when I went in.
Bola is great.
bola fan
I would highly recommend Regina Shields, Ph.D. She is a very
experienced, highly regarded therapist who sees couples,
children, individuals. Her office is in Oakland, near Lake
Merrit. And, since you're asking, she's also African American.
Good Luck
Feb 2005
I am really looking for a Marriage Counselor, Therapist or Pshychologist for
my husband and me. Prefer an African American, but at this time we are in
great need. We live in San Leandro but are willing to travel as far as
Oakland. I have Blue Shield of Ca and my husband has Kasier so please
recommend some for us. We are having major communication issues. Johnson
I would recommend Dr. Loland Lowe. He is African American, in
his mid 50's, and is my marriage counselor. He is located in
Oakland, near Summitt Medical Center. I find him to be objective
which is something that our marriage needed and communication is
what we are working on right now. Here's his contact information.
Dr. Loland Lowe
350 30th Street, Suite 550
Oakland, CA
(510) 206-6029
Sept 2004
I am looking for an African American male couples/marraige
counselor. My husband and I feel we need to see a couples
counselor, but he would be more comfortable working with someone
like him: a black male.
My partner and I see Sola Williams and Susan Schreier Williams
for help with our relationship. Sola is an African American
man and is married to Susan, who is Caucasian. Their approach
is very wholistic and absolutely offered from their first hand
experience in relationship. My partner and I see them and it
has been immensly helpful in figuring out how to relax with
each other and communicate more easily. They use a variety of
techniques including talk, demonstration, and physical games
which create metaphors that allow us to more deeply understand
and transcend our dynamics. Their number is (510) 482-2276 or
(510) 612-3492. Feel free to email me if you'd like more of my
perspective on working with them.
Galen
March 2002
Can anyone recommend a good therapist for very depressed
23 year old African American male. He has indicated
that life is not worth living . . . but suicide per se
has not been mentioned or knowingly planned. Kaiser is
not available to the family.
Many thanks . . .
Hello, I have a document in front of me called Bay Area
African-American Psychologist. I am listing a few of the
African American Male therapists.
Phillip Coleman PhD
2100 Lakeshore Ave. Ste B
Oakland Ca 94606
510 763-0105
Specialties: children, stress management,
depression/mood disorders etc.
Gerald Davenport PhD
436 14th St Ste 805
Oakland 94612
510 451 3192
Specialties: Adolescents, children, evaluation etc
Thomas duvaul, LCSW
621 E. Cambell Ave ste 14
Cambell, Ca 95008
408 266 6967
thomduv AT aol.com
Spec: Child abuse, Adolescents, children,
depression/ mood disorders, anxiety, panic attacks
and phobias
Sam Edwards LCSW
1721 SCOTT ST
San Francisco, Ca 94115
415 563 3316
sedwards AT stanford.edu
spec: Adolescents, anxiety, panic attacks and phobias,
grief and loss, depression/mood disrders etc.
William Spivey PhD
360 29th st ste 300
Oakland, ca 94609
510 893 2001
Marlin Griffith PHd, CEAP
436 14th st Ste 700
Oakland 94612
510 287-5324
Paul Guillory PhD
4315 Piedmont ave
oakland 94611
510 654 8339
Forrest Hamer PhD
5305 College Ave
oakland 94618
Hamerf AT socrates.berkeley.edu
510 652 2150
Donald Hunter LCSW
1290 Fillmore st Ste 107
San Fran 94115
415 931 6490
I do not know any of the above therapists personally
but I wish you and the young man the best of luck in
overcoming the problem.
Lagos
2000
My husband and 15-year-old son are truly clashing, they used to be the
best of friend but lately they just do not get along. I believe
counseling would be of great help for the both of them. Does anyone
have a reference for a good counselor, preferably an African American
male?
Regarding the request for an African-American counselor for teens--
I suggest Paul Guillory, Ph.d (psychologist). His telephone number
is 451-5011.
Barbara
I've had excellent experiences with John Nickens PhD, a child and
family therapist - 510/287-9456. Rosa
Dear Mom with Clashing Son and Husband: If you have a membership with Kaiser
Permanente which includes mental health benefits, I highly recommend their
family psychiatry department over in the Mosswood building at the Oakland
facility. They have two outstanding Black male professionals on staff (and
perhaps others whom I am not personally familiar with). Dr. Whitmore and Dr.
Simmons counsel both adults and children in individual sessions and in groups
organized for early/pre-teen children. You will need to inquire as to
whether your situation meets their criteria for obtaining services and of
course, they are probably already very busy. But for serious family problems
affecting our children, Kaiser members should be aware that affordable help
can be obtained. Good luck.
Nicolie
Roscoe Simmons, LCSW, PhD, who was mentioned in the last newsletter, has a
private practice in addition to his work with Kaiser Oakland. I know of his
work, as he is a colleague, and I highly recommend him. He can be reached at
510 596-1468 or
510 464-1033.
An outstanding female African American counselor in the West Contra Costa
area is Shirlene Turner, LCSW. Her practice is in Pinole, and she sees
adults (individually and couples), teens, children and families. She can be
reached at 510 799-2896.
-- Jean Shimozaki, LCSW
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