Oakland Therapist

Finding Relief with a Therapist in Oakland

You've always been able to handle what’s on your plate by working harder and longer. You are so burnt out and it’s nearly impossible to catch your breath. You feel like you're running a marathon from the time you wake up until when you go to bed. Your brain is on overdrive, trying to make everyone happy while feeling not enough for anyone and everything. 

You used to feel like you had it all together…

It’s getting harder and harder to focus at work and you’ve lost motivation - deadlines, meetings, it doesn't feel meaningful these days. So you procrastinate and the to-do list never ends. You get stuck in a loop of prioritizing, paralysis, shut down, and avoidance. All of your self-worth has been tied up in being a high achiever and you feel guilty for letting everyone down.

You struggle to trust and feel connected

Even in your close relationships, you long to feel connected but doubt your worthiness of being loved. You can't ask for help as you worry constantly what others will think of you or that you will be rejected. You don't enjoy the things you feel like you are supposed to - whether that's parenting or friendship, because you never feel like you are enough or can do the right thing. So you avoid or fake a smile and people please just to get through the day.

Your Oakland Therapist for Trauma and Anxiety

Hi! I’m Lara Clayman (LCSW), a therapist in Oakland, and I help clients throughout California who are struggling with anxiety, trauma and the impact of being multicultural in the US. I am known as a therapist who is kind, curious and direct.

In our weekly sessions, I listen deeply in search of expanding our understanding of who you are and what matters to you. We look at all of you, using an intersectional lens, and caring for the parts of you that have often been misunderstood, oppressed or erased.

My postgraduate training is in psychodynamic psychotherapy, a form of therapy that focuses on self-examination, our unique therapist-client relationship, and the roots of your emotional suffering. In therapy, my hope is for you to experience the feeling of being understood and cared for deeply so you can create that in your life outside the therapy room.

I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I have a Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan and advanced clinical training from The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley.

Ready to start therapy in Oakland?

I offer a free consultation where we can explore how therapy, through an intersectional lens (one that honors all parts of you) can help you not only feel seen and understood but empower you to shift into creating a life that you don’t want to run from. Click the button below to get started.